Since I am hopping from ruins to ruins I decided to just incorporate all my exciting experiences here in just one big blog to save the time. It will be a very exciting journey out there in the jungles of the Yucatan peninsula and the beautiful state of Quintana Roo. I just can´t wait to blog it here. Hope you all can relate with my enthralling experiences. I still have to write it in the first person point of view so that you can feel the sensitivity of the trip and that you are really with me on this sublime journey. Are you all ready! Here we go guys!
December 7, 2013, a Saturday, I flew out through an AeroMexico Flight 239 going to Cancun from Mexico City and then took an ADO bus going to Playa del Carmen. From there I then bought a ticket going to Tulum and arrived there past noon. The Polish owner of the hotel named Miras (who is versatile of speaking Spanish)had welcomed me with open arms. I settled myself and then decided to go to the beach to view the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea that´s washing off the white sandy shores of the beaches in Tulum. It was a nice tranquil walk after eating a steamed fish draped with seafoods at a restaurant near the Playa de Pescaderos, which is a public beach in Tulum.
December 8, 2013, a Sunday, the following morning I woke up late because my body was very sore from the bus transfers. My luggage was very heavy because of some stuff that I bought at Puebla (preferably the yellow onyx lamp shade that I bought in Ticali). And I have to pay 350 Mexican pesos for the overweight luggage which is roughly $29.00 at a current exchange rate. Not that bad! I woke up at 1100H and then started to take a warm shower to soak my sore body. I changed after that and then left the hotel and hired a taxi to drop me off at the Tulum Ruins.
After paying the entrance ticket, I then started roaming around the well known Mayan ruins perched on top of a cliff overlooking the blue and green waters of the Carribean sea. There were a lot of tourists and locals visiting the place, maybe because it was the most famous among the Mayan ruins along with Chichen Itza and Palenque. The place was crowded with people and it looks like a playground there. The lawns were well manicured and then there were lots of ground iguanas of varying sizes and colors roaming around the lush green gardens and grounds of the ruins.
The place looks like an old settlement, and appears to be more cultivated compared to the other settlements that I have seen online. I like the emperor´s palace near the end of the cliff. It was the highlight of all the ruins in there and the most preserved I think. It is sad though because all the buildings were all cordoned and that people couldn´t even feel and see the insides of the edifices. But it was a very exciting journey.
There was a very nice vista at the back of the temple overlooking the Carriben Sea and some people could even go down and take a plunge on the wavy surf of the aquamarine waters. There were a lot of foreigners taking a dip at the blue waters. There was even a makeshift stairs for people to go up and down the beach portion of the ruins.
There was also a haven of torqouises wherein turtle eggs were being burried under a warm soft sand until they were hatched. But sad to know that the area was close for the protection of the eggs. All in all Tulum is a very beautiful and very pretty place. It was a very hot day though and I was drenched with sweat after I came out there. I took a lot of pictures of my trip inside the ruins and had posted it in my Facebook account. There were two albums plus an album for all the panoramic views I´ve took of the ruins. Please click here to see the albums. Thanks!
December 9, 2013, a Monday, I woke up early in the morning at 0600H because I will have a long day today taking a bus ride going to Coba and if time will permit will also go to Ek Balam and then stay overnight at Valladolid and then travel again the next day going to Chichen Itza. That will be the plan and will still remain to be found out. Hopefully, it will be pushed through. And I believe that God will help me fulfill it.
I left Tulum at 0830H taking a Mayab Bus going to Coba. It only took forty minutes by bus to arrive there. The bus driver had dropped me off at the vicinity so that it would not be hard for me to look for it. Thank you Mr. Bus Driver! After alighting from the bus I then ambled a few meters towards the park but I went pass through it so I have to go back again and then finally found it. My bladder was about to burst when I got there so I needed to empty it before going inside. Hah!
After that I went ahead to buy a ticket for the entrance and then proceeded to go inside the park. The park entrance was just right beside the Lago Coba which is a depressed portion of the park. The entrance had guided me towards the "Juego de Pelota" courtyard where a small pyramid which was used for rituals can be found. I started to peruse the place and then took a lot of pictures. There were also a lot of tourists there preferably Europeans I guess.
After perusing the first group of pyramid structures near the entrance I then continued ambling down the road and met a guy telling me to hire a taxi (which is a pedicab, an open tricycle where the driver is seated pedalling at the back) because the main pyramid was four kilometers far amidst the mangroves inside the heart of the forest. I then hired the same guy as a driver and then we went off towards the heart of the jungle.
In between the jungle we stopped by at Lago Macanxoc which is the biggest among the three lakes there and then he also brought me to the third and smallest lake which is Lago Sacalpuc. We then continued driving until he dropped me at another "Juego de Pelota" courtyard which is larger than the first one earlier. I went down to take a picture of the structure while he was waiting for me.
After that we went more inside the forest and then stopped at another small round pyramid they called as Xay Be. It looks like a round cone hut but in a round pyramidal form. The sunrays had defined it from the entrance and the nearby worshipped place before that can also be seen from there.
After taking the picture of the Xay Be pyramid the driver had warned me that we were nearing the climax which is the apparition of the major pyramid called the Nohoch Mul. He continued driving for almost half mile and from the horizon I can see the towering structure of the famous pyramid almost shaped like a cone. As we were nearing I just can't wait to see it personally so I completely forgot that I was still sitting in the cab. When the driver stopped the cab he told me that he will wait for me while I'm climbing the pyramid. He urged (challenged actually) me to climb the steep stairs.
I went ahead and climbed the 53 meters tall pyramid and I was catching my breath when I reached the middle part forgetting that I was still there I glanced at the bottom and felt dizzy after that. I stopped for a while to catch my breath and then pledge not to look down again until I reached the top. Few minutes later I was at the summit and I was huffing and puffing persistently just like my lungs were about to explode. My legs were shaky and felt spongy like they were melting. Oh my God, what have I done to my life. I never knew that I was agoraphobic but at that moment I felt that whatever fears I have were been conquered. I am so proud of myself at that moment.
After seeing the vast area of the jungle and also taking pictures of the lush green vegetation and staying there for half an hour, I descended the steep stairs gradually. Going down was easy but since it was my first strenuous exercise for a long time I felt that both of my thighs were hard as a log. It felt that they were locked up or shall we say weighed like a thousand tons of logs. I can't barely walk out from there as if I will have to crawl out there in the jungle if I may have to do it. I panicked but I held on my composure and walked as slow as I could towards the pedicab.
The driver asked me if I am okay and I told him that my legs were hard and heavy and he laughed as hard as he could upon knowing my dilemma. He told me that it's the usual complaints of the first timers and he assured me that I will be okay. I took his assurance and calmed myself down. Then the driver took me to the entrance for my exit and there I paid him for his charge. I then left Coba and inquired outside where to get a ride going to Ek Balam.
The taxi driver told me that the next bus will pass by at 1300H and it's only 1030H at that time when I went out of Coba and I have to wait for two and a half hours for the next ride. I calculated that I might lose a lot of time if I waited for the bus. I asked the taxi driver how much he will charge to drive me to Valladolid and from there I will just get the "collectivo". He told me that it will cost me 200 pesos which is roughly $17. I think it was cheap considering that it took one hour to drive going to Valladolid at the same time I will save a lot of time from waiting the bus. So I struck a deal with the taxi driver and then we took off.
We drove on the paved road going North towards Valladolid. My location was kind of in the middle of Tulum and Valladolid so the bus seldom passed by there, at least every three hours. So my decision to hire a taxi was just appropriate and I can't decide for anything else to do. I noticed that all the roads in Mexico, be it urban or rural roads were all paved and accessible, just like in the US. Unlike in the Philippines some of the roads were not that paved but cheaply asphalted. It was a shame to compare it to other developed countries.
I also noticed in Mexico that every farm products were easily transported because of the nice roads they have. That is why when I roamed around each town's "mercado" it seems that all the produce were all fresh and new. That's how progressive it is here. If I have to chose, I will stay here for a long time because of the cheerful and hospitable people over here. But sad to say I can't but if given a spare chance I will.
On the way to Valladolid the driver had put on a CD on the record rack and it was playing 80's songs from Jon Bon Jovi, Air Supply, Madonna, and Backstreet Boys. I started reminiscing those days when I was young. I complimented the driver for the nice music and he was happy that I liked it. After an hour we arrived safely at the colonial town of Valladolid. The driver then dropped me at a "collectiv" spot and from there I took a taxi along with four more passengers and then we divided the fare which ends up for us paying 50 pesos each going to Ek Balam.
The drive to Ek Balam was about twenty five minutes and we got there safe. The place was already open but it seems that there were only few tourists there. I only saw two or three tourist's buses there. I then paid the entrance ticket and fee and then went inside. The place looks deserted and maybe not famous or shall we say undiscovered because I only saw few people from there roaming around the vast area.
First up, the entrance opens up with a small structure which I believe was a little altar and then two twin ruined edifices followed with a big ceremonial building (which was still perfect) adjacent to it. The compound was big and some people were climbing up the stairs of the ceremonial building and can freely roam around the whole building. The buildings were not cordoned to the public so basically the visitors can browse each structures independently.
Nearby was a medium size "Juego de Pelota" ball court but I took cover first because it was drizzling slightly. Few minutes later the drizzle abated so I resumed my perusal of the park. From the ball court I crossed the huge garden and then was surprised by a huge palace they called "La Acropolis". It was huge with vacant rooms spanning on both sides and divided with a towering stairs spanning towards the tip and on the sides of the stairs were art structures covered with grass straws to protect the art structure from the extreme heat of the sun and the erosion of the wind and rain. I took a panoramic view of the building and then proceeded to go up the stairs.
Although, my thighs were hurting from climbing the previous pyramid I still continued to go up slowly and carefully not looking down so as not to get dizzy and tipsy with the high altitude. When I got to the top I was huffing and puffing again maybe because of my lack of activity lately. From there I can see the ceremonial building across the vast garden and I requested one of the two guys who were already there to get me some few pictures which one of them had eagerly did for my sake. Thanks guys for your kindness.
I felt so blessed that I went up there and feel the sacredness of the place. It was a very humbling experience because I felt that I was traveled back in time where the place was still at it's height. I can feel the pulse of the place during that time imagining the progressive events and activities in that epoch. It gave me a realization about the ways and cultures of the indigenous people of Mexico and had educated me about their society. I felt so lucky to have been there and felt it.
After that I descended gradually from the "La Acropolis" and roamed the vast place going back across the garden towards the ceremonial building where the entrance and exit were located. I then left the sacred grounds and then left Ek Balam. It was a very heartfelt experience being there. I don't know why I am so drawn to all these Mayan ruins or whatever ruins that existed during the pre-Columbian times. That's still remain a mystery to me.
I went out of the park and then looked for a taxi to drove me back to Valladolid. After thirty minutes I arrived to Valladolid and instructed the driver to drop me off at Ecotel Quinta Hotel. I then checked in and settled myself because I was really tired from the long day trip starting from Tulum to Coba to Ek Balam. I wanted to rest for now because I will have a long day tomorrow at Chichen Itza.
I took a nap and when I woke up I decided to roam around the zocalo in Valladolid trying to see what's good about the town. I took a lot of pictures of the center town and then decided to eat at one of the hotel near there. I ordered a half chicken boiled with five different peppers wrapped in young banana leaves and it was really delicious. After the dinner I went shopping for some jewelries because I've heard that silver in Valladolid was cheap and of the best quality. I went back to my hotel at 1900H very tired and then I slept well in preparation for the next day event.
December 9, 2013, a Monday, I woke up at 0700H readying myself for another Mayan pyramid ruin adventure in Chichen Itza. I have to woke up early because the ride to Chichen Itza will be long. I took a warm shower and then checked out at the hotel. Then I hired a taxi to drop me off at the ADO bus station going to Chichen Itza. The driver recommended me to take the collectivo because it was cheaper. Then I asked him to drop me off there.
When we got at the station the driver told me that the van was about to leave and saw that the weather was very nice at that time.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
In Light Of My Long Absence
I greatly apologize to all my avid readers that I haven't been blogging for three weeks since I arrived here at Puebla. It's been a very hectic schedule that have derailed me from sharing all my experiences here. I've been on a study grant to learn Spanish here and I have to focus on my lessons purposefully because of a lot of assignments given to me after class.
Despite all the odds I've been secretly saving all my adventures behind my subconscious for me to share to you. My apologies for giving it to you in a very late or shall we say tardy fashion..... but I have lots and lots of stories to share to you. I know I have still three blogs to finish.... the ones that I've partially made before I came here to Puebla but I promise you that I will fish it just in time.
For now, I am glad that my rusty mind had not been waning in remembering vividly all the events that I've been through from my various experiences of ambling around Puebla, to my daring adventure in Pachuca de Soto and Tulla de Allende, from my scary sojourn in Poza Rica to see the undiscovered Pyramids of El Tajin, and from making a slight mistake in getting down a bus at Xicotepec and stayed in a cold foggy night at a cheap hotel there.... and so on.
My studies will culminate this week and I can't wait for my seven days real vacation enjoying the beaches of Quintana Roo starting down at Tulum, to Playa del Carmen and the beautiful island of Cozumel, and finish up at the populated beaches of Cancun. I just can't wait to start blogging all my experiences all throughout the month that I stayed here.
It was a very fun experience I've got here. My lessons were getting harder and harder. I've noticed there were a lot of improvements from the first day I set foot on this quiet traditional but welcoming colonial city. I can now conjugate verbs well and expressed myself fairly well in Spanish but still I'm hesitant to push myself for the fear of getting embarrassed. But I think it's all okay.
My "maestra" was very helpful. She was very charming and bubbly. She was very approachable and had assisted me a lot. She said I am a very quick learner but I think I still underestimated myself. But thanks Angelica for boosting my confidence. Everyday I've been assigned to a "guia" or guide for my conversation class. ANd I've been to three different persons since I came here three weeks ago.
My first week guide was quite timid and was not really helpful. At times he talked to me in broken English. I cannot blame him because I am still not pro at speaking Spanish well. I've only known some basic and fundamental grammar and Lenardo had a hard time understanding me so he resorted to talking to me in English. I had him for two days which was a Tuesday and a Thursday.
The first day that I came here was a Monday, November 18, and I was told that they were not expecting me that day. They thought I had backed out because technically I should show up a day before for my orientation but since I was there that day my orientation had started then. In the afternoon they gave me to Veronica as my "guia" after I've sorted out all my applications and paperworks. Veronica was very helpful but sad to say she was only assigned to me that day. I wished I could have her all throughout my time. Hehehe.... but sadly not.
My second week guide was Edgar. He was very patient and soft spoken and had helped me a lot comprehending some very important key words. I was s blessed to have him that week and thanks to Angelica for improving my conjugation skills and that I can rebut Edgar's questions very well. I was so excited of my newfound confidence and I couldn't agree more that the institute's program was really working magically. Edgar was very helpful in correcting and finding meaning for my "oraciones". I really felt the big change.
As the week progresses my lessons become more intense and Angelica had been feeding and grilling me questions that really helped me straighten my Spanish. Now I can say that my Spanish was "mejor" or they say better.
My third week guide was Raul. He was a very perky yet intelligent scrawny guy. He bubbles so fast yet it made me train my ears listen more and understand what he was saying. He was very helpful in training my ears comprehend everything. I had him for two days now and all I can say that this guy is an adventurer. He had brought me to places that I've never been before. Thanks to him that I had browsed the Amparo Museum and also had known the Las Fuertes de Loreto y Guadalupe. I still have two more days with him before I terminate my stay and who knows where he will bring me.... hehehe....
My stay here was not just purely studies. I've been mixing it with going to nice and interesting places to learn about the culture and immerse with the people. In that I can learn more from those experiences as well as practice what I have learned in the classroom. I volunteered also helping in an orphanage on my spare time during Tuesdays and Thursdays and also teach students English, Math, and Science at the nearby private school. It was a very wholesome experience for me that I cannot forget.
Puebla is a very big place and I've been to a lot of Churches here. I've been to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion, the Church of Santo Domingo which I visited the Chapel of the Holy Rosary wherein it's dome ceiling was highly adorned with priced gold foils, the church of San Francisco where I saw the mummy of Beato Francisco, and many many more churches around it and the nearby towns like Cholula and Tlaxcala. I've been to the famous Zocalo where we meet our guides in the afternoon for our conversation class. The museums like the Amparo Museums, the Museo de las Muniecas, and the antique Palafox Library at the Museo de las Cultura.
Every Wednesdays we have a free excursions and we've been to Tlaxcala during my first Wednesday visiting the Tlaxcal Municipal Hall and see the Mural on its wall, visiting the Zocalo, and the antiquated Baroque Church with vintage arts and statues inside and lastly the Artisanal Museum.
On my second Wednesday we visited two of the 300 churches of Cholula beautifully decorated with colored Talavera tiles but sadly taking photos was prohibited and we visited the famous Pyramids of Cholula and went under the mountain and see how the pyramid were formed. It was very fascinating. Our guide during those trips was Heidi and she was also a bubbly, confident, and very informative guide who knows what she was doing.
I also traveled to Tula and Pachuca de Soto during my first weekend to see the pyramid ruins of Tula and also feel the tranquility of the place. It was a very stunning experience I've had. Adventurous and brave yet very educational. I had used all my knowledge in speaking Spanish just to reach the place safely. (Please refer to my following blog about Tula Ruins for a more vivid discussion of my experiences. It will come out soon I promise.)
The second week of my adventure was spend in Poza Rica to traverse the lost and undiscovered pyramids of El Tajin in Papantla where I was mesmerized by the intricacy and meticulousness of the "Pyramid of the Niches". And yes you have to read about it in my following blogs and I promise it will be out soon. Sorry!
All in all, my experience here in Puebla was worth it apart from my other experiences in Mexico City. I think I can't complain for more because right now I still feel that there's still more adventures that will be happening and I can't wait for it to happen. I am just fortunate that I made this very hard decision to come here and learn Spanish and the Mexican culture as well as appreciate the beauty of the places that I've been through.
And I thank you al for being so patient in waiting for my blogs. I am very sorry for causing you misery and keep you waiting for it. But now that I'm nearing he end of my lessons then the blogs will just kept pouring out and that's a promise. Thanks for all your support. Buen dia amigos!
Despite all the odds I've been secretly saving all my adventures behind my subconscious for me to share to you. My apologies for giving it to you in a very late or shall we say tardy fashion..... but I have lots and lots of stories to share to you. I know I have still three blogs to finish.... the ones that I've partially made before I came here to Puebla but I promise you that I will fish it just in time.
For now, I am glad that my rusty mind had not been waning in remembering vividly all the events that I've been through from my various experiences of ambling around Puebla, to my daring adventure in Pachuca de Soto and Tulla de Allende, from my scary sojourn in Poza Rica to see the undiscovered Pyramids of El Tajin, and from making a slight mistake in getting down a bus at Xicotepec and stayed in a cold foggy night at a cheap hotel there.... and so on.
My studies will culminate this week and I can't wait for my seven days real vacation enjoying the beaches of Quintana Roo starting down at Tulum, to Playa del Carmen and the beautiful island of Cozumel, and finish up at the populated beaches of Cancun. I just can't wait to start blogging all my experiences all throughout the month that I stayed here.
It was a very fun experience I've got here. My lessons were getting harder and harder. I've noticed there were a lot of improvements from the first day I set foot on this quiet traditional but welcoming colonial city. I can now conjugate verbs well and expressed myself fairly well in Spanish but still I'm hesitant to push myself for the fear of getting embarrassed. But I think it's all okay.
My "maestra" was very helpful. She was very charming and bubbly. She was very approachable and had assisted me a lot. She said I am a very quick learner but I think I still underestimated myself. But thanks Angelica for boosting my confidence. Everyday I've been assigned to a "guia" or guide for my conversation class. ANd I've been to three different persons since I came here three weeks ago.
My first week guide was quite timid and was not really helpful. At times he talked to me in broken English. I cannot blame him because I am still not pro at speaking Spanish well. I've only known some basic and fundamental grammar and Lenardo had a hard time understanding me so he resorted to talking to me in English. I had him for two days which was a Tuesday and a Thursday.
The first day that I came here was a Monday, November 18, and I was told that they were not expecting me that day. They thought I had backed out because technically I should show up a day before for my orientation but since I was there that day my orientation had started then. In the afternoon they gave me to Veronica as my "guia" after I've sorted out all my applications and paperworks. Veronica was very helpful but sad to say she was only assigned to me that day. I wished I could have her all throughout my time. Hehehe.... but sadly not.
My second week guide was Edgar. He was very patient and soft spoken and had helped me a lot comprehending some very important key words. I was s blessed to have him that week and thanks to Angelica for improving my conjugation skills and that I can rebut Edgar's questions very well. I was so excited of my newfound confidence and I couldn't agree more that the institute's program was really working magically. Edgar was very helpful in correcting and finding meaning for my "oraciones". I really felt the big change.
As the week progresses my lessons become more intense and Angelica had been feeding and grilling me questions that really helped me straighten my Spanish. Now I can say that my Spanish was "mejor" or they say better.
My third week guide was Raul. He was a very perky yet intelligent scrawny guy. He bubbles so fast yet it made me train my ears listen more and understand what he was saying. He was very helpful in training my ears comprehend everything. I had him for two days now and all I can say that this guy is an adventurer. He had brought me to places that I've never been before. Thanks to him that I had browsed the Amparo Museum and also had known the Las Fuertes de Loreto y Guadalupe. I still have two more days with him before I terminate my stay and who knows where he will bring me.... hehehe....
My stay here was not just purely studies. I've been mixing it with going to nice and interesting places to learn about the culture and immerse with the people. In that I can learn more from those experiences as well as practice what I have learned in the classroom. I volunteered also helping in an orphanage on my spare time during Tuesdays and Thursdays and also teach students English, Math, and Science at the nearby private school. It was a very wholesome experience for me that I cannot forget.
Puebla is a very big place and I've been to a lot of Churches here. I've been to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion, the Church of Santo Domingo which I visited the Chapel of the Holy Rosary wherein it's dome ceiling was highly adorned with priced gold foils, the church of San Francisco where I saw the mummy of Beato Francisco, and many many more churches around it and the nearby towns like Cholula and Tlaxcala. I've been to the famous Zocalo where we meet our guides in the afternoon for our conversation class. The museums like the Amparo Museums, the Museo de las Muniecas, and the antique Palafox Library at the Museo de las Cultura.
Every Wednesdays we have a free excursions and we've been to Tlaxcala during my first Wednesday visiting the Tlaxcal Municipal Hall and see the Mural on its wall, visiting the Zocalo, and the antiquated Baroque Church with vintage arts and statues inside and lastly the Artisanal Museum.
On my second Wednesday we visited two of the 300 churches of Cholula beautifully decorated with colored Talavera tiles but sadly taking photos was prohibited and we visited the famous Pyramids of Cholula and went under the mountain and see how the pyramid were formed. It was very fascinating. Our guide during those trips was Heidi and she was also a bubbly, confident, and very informative guide who knows what she was doing.
I also traveled to Tula and Pachuca de Soto during my first weekend to see the pyramid ruins of Tula and also feel the tranquility of the place. It was a very stunning experience I've had. Adventurous and brave yet very educational. I had used all my knowledge in speaking Spanish just to reach the place safely. (Please refer to my following blog about Tula Ruins for a more vivid discussion of my experiences. It will come out soon I promise.)
The second week of my adventure was spend in Poza Rica to traverse the lost and undiscovered pyramids of El Tajin in Papantla where I was mesmerized by the intricacy and meticulousness of the "Pyramid of the Niches". And yes you have to read about it in my following blogs and I promise it will be out soon. Sorry!
All in all, my experience here in Puebla was worth it apart from my other experiences in Mexico City. I think I can't complain for more because right now I still feel that there's still more adventures that will be happening and I can't wait for it to happen. I am just fortunate that I made this very hard decision to come here and learn Spanish and the Mexican culture as well as appreciate the beauty of the places that I've been through.
And I thank you al for being so patient in waiting for my blogs. I am very sorry for causing you misery and keep you waiting for it. But now that I'm nearing he end of my lessons then the blogs will just kept pouring out and that's a promise. Thanks for all your support. Buen dia amigos!
Monday, November 18, 2013
On My Way To Puebla
November 18, 2013 (Monday): I woke up early this morning at around 0730H and packed my things for I will be checking out shortly and take a bus going to Puebla, Mexico to start my Spanish Immersion Class. I am kind of nervous because this will the first time that I will be on my own to travel in this country. My Spanish was so limited but still I'm up to challenge myself to study for this vacation and hopefully my goals will be fruitfully achieved at the end of three weeks. Fingers crossed.
After seeing to it that everything were been in order and packed I then took a warm shower. I guess the temperature outside was kinda cool just like yesterday. The sky appears so gloomy. I hope it won't rain today. After the shower I then changed and went to the hotel receptionist and took my passport and pocket money kept from the safe and then I asked the receptionist (his name is Carlos) how could I go to TAPO where I will getting the bus to Puebla.
He told me to let him know when I will be leaving so that he can call a taxi to bring me to TAPO. I then went back to my room and counted the money which was exactly the same as when I deposited it. After that I decided to change money first before going to Puebla, just in case I ran out of local money. The change today was 12.35 pesos per dollar better than when I came here last Friday which is 10.23 pesos.
After changing the money, I decided to fetch some coffee at the nearby Starbuck's Cafe, which I usually frequented starting when I came here, for this is the only more convenient one for me judging by its distance from the hotel. After paying off the cafe latte that I ordered I then went back to the hotel and checked out. After checking out, Carlos called a taxi for me which promptly came after ten minutes.
I left the hotel at 1005H and the taxi driver drove me to TAPO, the central bus terminal herein Mexico City, which is located near the airport. After dropping me off at TAPO and paid the driver handsomely I then pulled my luggage inside the circular terminal and then looked for the AU Bus Terminal for I was tad that the bus usually goes there. When I got to the inquiry booth I checked the posting on the monitor and noticed that the bus will be leaving shortly at 1100H.
I then asked the lady manning the booth and asked her for one ticket going to Puebla. She showed me a monitor for me to select my seat and after choosing seat #17 I paid her with 120 pesos and then she handed me the ticket. She then pointed me where to wait and then I sat near Gate 1. I waited for five minutes and then after that the overhead pager called for the boarding so I lined up and showed my ticket and then handed my luggage to the porter which he eventually stuck underneath the baggage deposit area.
I then handed my ticket to the driver and then he marked seat #17 and he instructed me to go up and look for my seat. When I found my seat the bus left after ten minutes heading to the south expressway going to Puebla. There was no traffic on the highway maybe because it was Black Maunday Holiday for the whole Mexico and people were at home enjoying their day off.
After seeing to it that everything were been in order and packed I then took a warm shower. I guess the temperature outside was kinda cool just like yesterday. The sky appears so gloomy. I hope it won't rain today. After the shower I then changed and went to the hotel receptionist and took my passport and pocket money kept from the safe and then I asked the receptionist (his name is Carlos) how could I go to TAPO where I will getting the bus to Puebla.
He told me to let him know when I will be leaving so that he can call a taxi to bring me to TAPO. I then went back to my room and counted the money which was exactly the same as when I deposited it. After that I decided to change money first before going to Puebla, just in case I ran out of local money. The change today was 12.35 pesos per dollar better than when I came here last Friday which is 10.23 pesos.
After changing the money, I decided to fetch some coffee at the nearby Starbuck's Cafe, which I usually frequented starting when I came here, for this is the only more convenient one for me judging by its distance from the hotel. After paying off the cafe latte that I ordered I then went back to the hotel and checked out. After checking out, Carlos called a taxi for me which promptly came after ten minutes.
I left the hotel at 1005H and the taxi driver drove me to TAPO, the central bus terminal herein Mexico City, which is located near the airport. After dropping me off at TAPO and paid the driver handsomely I then pulled my luggage inside the circular terminal and then looked for the AU Bus Terminal for I was tad that the bus usually goes there. When I got to the inquiry booth I checked the posting on the monitor and noticed that the bus will be leaving shortly at 1100H.
I then asked the lady manning the booth and asked her for one ticket going to Puebla. She showed me a monitor for me to select my seat and after choosing seat #17 I paid her with 120 pesos and then she handed me the ticket. She then pointed me where to wait and then I sat near Gate 1. I waited for five minutes and then after that the overhead pager called for the boarding so I lined up and showed my ticket and then handed my luggage to the porter which he eventually stuck underneath the baggage deposit area.
I then handed my ticket to the driver and then he marked seat #17 and he instructed me to go up and look for my seat. When I found my seat the bus left after ten minutes heading to the south expressway going to Puebla. There was no traffic on the highway maybe because it was Black Maunday Holiday for the whole Mexico and people were at home enjoying their day off.
Revisiting Xochimilco
November 17, 2013 (Sunday): As usual I woke up late at 1000H and was still groggy from the five rum cokes that I have drunk from hanging out at "Tom's Leather Bar" in Condesa. Actually, I had a blast last night watching the naked go-go boys. In fact I got drunk and had incurred a hang-over.
So much about the hang-over. Today is a brand new day. I am planning to go back to Xochimilco and enjoy the boar ride. My feet are still sore from walking a lot yesterday so I popped a Vicodin and mixed it with Neurontin. I hope I will last for the whole.
Today, I decided to take the Metro. After I changed i immediately asked the hotel receptionist to tell me how to go to Xochimilco using the Metro. He then produced a map and showed me the train route explaining the direction in broken English. I gratefully thanked him and then I took off.
I walked along Londres Avenue and decided to passed by the Starbuck's Cafe to buy a grande cafe latte and then asked the nice middle-aged security guard where to find the subway outlet for Insurgentes for a second opinion. It doesn't hurt to ask for my safety.
After finding the outlet without a miss I know that I could be up for the greatest challenge of my life. Before buying the ticket I studied the map first then inquired at the ticketer and asked for a ticket going to Taxquena as what I am instructed by the hotel receptionist. The ticketer charged me 3 pesos and told me to get off at Pina Suarez hub then go up one level and take the blue line going to Taxquena.
I was relieved that the people I had bumped were very helpful to me in giving me directions. Mexico City's subway is almost the same as the subways in Europe. The trains were clean and appears ultramodern. Problem is, it always get crowded all the time. No wonder Mexico City is one if the most populated city in the world.
So much about the hang-over. Today is a brand new day. I am planning to go back to Xochimilco and enjoy the boar ride. My feet are still sore from walking a lot yesterday so I popped a Vicodin and mixed it with Neurontin. I hope I will last for the whole.
Today, I decided to take the Metro. After I changed i immediately asked the hotel receptionist to tell me how to go to Xochimilco using the Metro. He then produced a map and showed me the train route explaining the direction in broken English. I gratefully thanked him and then I took off.
I walked along Londres Avenue and decided to passed by the Starbuck's Cafe to buy a grande cafe latte and then asked the nice middle-aged security guard where to find the subway outlet for Insurgentes for a second opinion. It doesn't hurt to ask for my safety.
After finding the outlet without a miss I know that I could be up for the greatest challenge of my life. Before buying the ticket I studied the map first then inquired at the ticketer and asked for a ticket going to Taxquena as what I am instructed by the hotel receptionist. The ticketer charged me 3 pesos and told me to get off at Pina Suarez hub then go up one level and take the blue line going to Taxquena.
I was relieved that the people I had bumped were very helpful to me in giving me directions. Mexico City's subway is almost the same as the subways in Europe. The trains were clean and appears ultramodern. Problem is, it always get crowded all the time. No wonder Mexico City is one if the most populated city in the world.
Visiting The Park And The Zocalo
November 16, 2013 (Saturday): I woke up late today. Well, it's understandable because I came last night at 2300H and maybe slept late. I haven't kept track of the time because I forgot to change the time difference between the west coast and the east coast. My bad! I thought my iPhone will automatically changed it but it seems that I haven't programmed it either.
I woke up with 0700H Los Angeles time but it was actually 1000H in Mexico City, there's a three hours difference. Having noticed it, I programmed my iPhone right away. I immediately woke up and started to took a warm shower then changed. I decided to skip breakfast so I planned to just get coffee at Starbucks near my hotel.
The weather was nice hear, not too hot and not too cold. The sun was happily out and shine brightly on the clear blue Mexican skies. It's a good time to roam around the city and seized the beauty of the day. I still don't know where to start until I kept ambling towards Avenida Reforma and saw the Gold Angel Monument at a rotunda from a distance then I continued trekking the avenue and started my day from there.
I woke up with 0700H Los Angeles time but it was actually 1000H in Mexico City, there's a three hours difference. Having noticed it, I programmed my iPhone right away. I immediately woke up and started to took a warm shower then changed. I decided to skip breakfast so I planned to just get coffee at Starbucks near my hotel.
The weather was nice hear, not too hot and not too cold. The sun was happily out and shine brightly on the clear blue Mexican skies. It's a good time to roam around the city and seized the beauty of the day. I still don't know where to start until I kept ambling towards Avenida Reforma and saw the Gold Angel Monument at a rotunda from a distance then I continued trekking the avenue and started my day from there.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Anxious About The Trip
November 15, 2013 (Friday): It's been two days now that I've been sulking at my apartment trying to prepare for my long awaited vacation to Mexico, to volunteer and at the same time enhance my Spanish through immersion classes which I have arranged before. It would be quite a very hectic schedule but I think it's for my own good. For sure it will be fun and very challenging as well.
Apparently, I did not accomplish any packing yet during my two days off for I was heavily procrastinating and at the same time was recuperating my fatigue because I had worked seven days straight just for me to give time for packing but here I am doing nothing. Ah.... actually watching the series of "Once Upon A Time", an NBC hit series had suit me instead of packing. I was enchanted with the stories so I vowed to finish all the 23 episodes of season one. It had made me dreamy and believed that fairy tales indeed ends happily ever after. A good tonic indeed for my anticipating anxiety.
Maybe, my apprehensions about the impending trip had made me to just take it easy and thus procrastinate. There was no feeling of excitement, anticipation, and eagerness, unlike my previous trips. I just don't know what to pack, my mind was been clouded with the unknown. There are a lot of things to include and consider but the baggage should not weigh more than 50 pounds, as what the airline regulation says. I don't want to overweigh and then pay for the excess baggage.
Today, I woke up so tired at 0400H and started to rearrange the contents of the luggage eliminating those things that I don't need to bring and seeing to it that the weight is just enough. My mind is still boggly and undecided. It was a very tedious job. I got exhausted honestly. My flight will be in the afternoon at 1750H so I still have time to do some last minute errands and last minute instructions to my beloved landlord who will take care of my dog, Diamond, when I'm away. Surely, I will miss my baby!
As the hours keep ticking, my anticipatory anxiety keeps numbing me, delivering me doing things half done. I just can't think of what to do. You know, I am so nervous for this trip because I have to do it alone without a guide. My friend in Mexico City is currently out of the country (actually, he is in Japan right now), and I don't know what to do and expect when I am there. Hopefully, it will be okay as well as safe but still I can't stop worrying.
I think I have to challenge myself to do this. Honestly, being in a different country is strange. And I myself have a share of those mumbled and silent moments during my trips to Europe years ago. I pretty much can understand Spanish but the setback is I could not speak or express it well verbally. And with that, I am so nervous. But oh well, I hope I can manage it.
I called the taxi at 1500H, and bade goodbye to my landlord. (He looks handsome today.) The taxi arrived and the cute Russian driver smiled at me and asked me where I'm heading. I told him that I am going to LAX Airport as I am mesmerized with his icy blue eyes that melted me away with his stares. He gave me an option whether to take the side streets or the freeway so I told him that the freeway might be better because of the "fast lanes". Here in Los Angeles we called it "Diamond Lane" or "HOV" (High Occupancy Vehicle Lane).
The traffic at that time was just sporadic and we made it in less than an hour. I still have time to check in my luggage. We arrived at the airport at 1540H so I paid him enormously and thanked him for his services. I then lined myself up to check-in my luggage and guess what happened, my luggage had overweighed. Oh my God...... what should I do? Well, I have no choice but to dug up what's needed to be taken out and then hand carry it for I don't have time to go home and leave them. Luckily, it was not heavy for I only took out couple of jackets and then place them inside my black messenger bag.
Next, I lined up myself at the security line which I have no problem and gone through without any fuss. Piece of cake! I then went up and looked for my boarding gate. When I was on the departure level, I decided to look for some key chains to reserve for my impending close friends for the Spanish class (whoever I will befriend, that's why it's still impending). I also bought a club sandwich at the nearby grill because I was very very hungry. My God.... the prices of food and beverage at the airport was sky-high.
We boarded early at 1715H and left early at 1745H. There were a lot of passengers and the plane was somewhat fully occupied, although the seat beside me was vacant. The flight was smooth and not that bumpy for the weather was excellent when we left Los Angeles. I dozed off my fatigue during the three hour flight and had not noticed what's happening inside the plane. We arrived at Mexico City early at 2300H and when we were taxiing at the tarmac, I suddenly felt the numbness which even made me more worried.
I was worried what will happen next when I got out of the airport because I don't know where to get a taxi on this strange city (although I went here three times already but those trips I had assistance from my friend). After alighting from the plane, I then headed to the immigration to get stamped and there was no problem there. I got through without any questions.
I then went to retrieve my luggage at carousel 19 and 20 then looked for a money exchange and changed my dollars to the Mexican peso. I then went out of the immigration lobby after I turned in my customs declaration form and then looked for a booth that schedule for a taxi. I then asked the lady that I needed a taxi going to Zona Rosa in broken Spanish and I paid the charge or 325 pesos.
She then pointed me to exit at Gate 10 and look for the line of the taxi that was stated on my ticket which says Porto Taxi. It was a long walk going to that gate and luckily I found the line. It was already midnight that time and the night was going deeper and deeper in Mexico City and I'm still at the airport waiting for my taxi to drop me off at my hotel in Zona Rosa. It was kinda nippy at that time and good thing I am wearing a jacket enough to warm me up until the taxi will arrive.
Few minutes later a big white suburban truck came and the old man manning and regulating the line told me to hop in so I handed him back my ticket for verification and then gave my luggage to the cute driver with curly hair. My God, taxis in Mexico City were huge. It was very spacious in that suburban taxi and I enjoyed the night view of the city while we were silently driving going to Zona Rosa. It reminded me of my previous visits full of memories. I broke the ice and greeted the cute driver "Ola" and then he asked me if I can speak Spanish and I told him "Poquito". We talked about the weather and about the traffic which is not apparent during those times.
We arrived at Zona Rosa after twenty minutes. The freeway has no traffic that's why we arrived at my hotel fast. After dropping me off at the hotel, I then checked in at the reception and then paid my courtesy at the receptionist and then he handed me the key to my room after signing all the necessary papers for my three days stay here in Mexico City.
Now that I safely arrived at my hotel, all the apprehensions and anticipatory anxiety were immediately dissipated. I conquered all my fears and I did it alone. I am proud of myself and I congratulated myself for a job well done. I am very very exhausted right now but I have to blog first because I just don't want to pass my eagerness to write my experiences today and suffer forgetting them have I not insisted to finish it.
Tomorrow will be a brand new day for me and again more challenges ahead. It will be a long day tomorrow and I am planning to tour again the zocalo, the Metropolitan Church, and maybe the National Palace if I have enough time. I am also planning to go back to Xochimilco, who knows. But for now, I am going to hit the sack and get ready for a very long day tomorrow. Adios mi amigos y amigas. Muy amable y bien gracias!
Apparently, I did not accomplish any packing yet during my two days off for I was heavily procrastinating and at the same time was recuperating my fatigue because I had worked seven days straight just for me to give time for packing but here I am doing nothing. Ah.... actually watching the series of "Once Upon A Time", an NBC hit series had suit me instead of packing. I was enchanted with the stories so I vowed to finish all the 23 episodes of season one. It had made me dreamy and believed that fairy tales indeed ends happily ever after. A good tonic indeed for my anticipating anxiety.
Maybe, my apprehensions about the impending trip had made me to just take it easy and thus procrastinate. There was no feeling of excitement, anticipation, and eagerness, unlike my previous trips. I just don't know what to pack, my mind was been clouded with the unknown. There are a lot of things to include and consider but the baggage should not weigh more than 50 pounds, as what the airline regulation says. I don't want to overweigh and then pay for the excess baggage.
Today, I woke up so tired at 0400H and started to rearrange the contents of the luggage eliminating those things that I don't need to bring and seeing to it that the weight is just enough. My mind is still boggly and undecided. It was a very tedious job. I got exhausted honestly. My flight will be in the afternoon at 1750H so I still have time to do some last minute errands and last minute instructions to my beloved landlord who will take care of my dog, Diamond, when I'm away. Surely, I will miss my baby!
As the hours keep ticking, my anticipatory anxiety keeps numbing me, delivering me doing things half done. I just can't think of what to do. You know, I am so nervous for this trip because I have to do it alone without a guide. My friend in Mexico City is currently out of the country (actually, he is in Japan right now), and I don't know what to do and expect when I am there. Hopefully, it will be okay as well as safe but still I can't stop worrying.
I think I have to challenge myself to do this. Honestly, being in a different country is strange. And I myself have a share of those mumbled and silent moments during my trips to Europe years ago. I pretty much can understand Spanish but the setback is I could not speak or express it well verbally. And with that, I am so nervous. But oh well, I hope I can manage it.
I called the taxi at 1500H, and bade goodbye to my landlord. (He looks handsome today.) The taxi arrived and the cute Russian driver smiled at me and asked me where I'm heading. I told him that I am going to LAX Airport as I am mesmerized with his icy blue eyes that melted me away with his stares. He gave me an option whether to take the side streets or the freeway so I told him that the freeway might be better because of the "fast lanes". Here in Los Angeles we called it "Diamond Lane" or "HOV" (High Occupancy Vehicle Lane).
The traffic at that time was just sporadic and we made it in less than an hour. I still have time to check in my luggage. We arrived at the airport at 1540H so I paid him enormously and thanked him for his services. I then lined myself up to check-in my luggage and guess what happened, my luggage had overweighed. Oh my God...... what should I do? Well, I have no choice but to dug up what's needed to be taken out and then hand carry it for I don't have time to go home and leave them. Luckily, it was not heavy for I only took out couple of jackets and then place them inside my black messenger bag.
Next, I lined up myself at the security line which I have no problem and gone through without any fuss. Piece of cake! I then went up and looked for my boarding gate. When I was on the departure level, I decided to look for some key chains to reserve for my impending close friends for the Spanish class (whoever I will befriend, that's why it's still impending). I also bought a club sandwich at the nearby grill because I was very very hungry. My God.... the prices of food and beverage at the airport was sky-high.
We boarded early at 1715H and left early at 1745H. There were a lot of passengers and the plane was somewhat fully occupied, although the seat beside me was vacant. The flight was smooth and not that bumpy for the weather was excellent when we left Los Angeles. I dozed off my fatigue during the three hour flight and had not noticed what's happening inside the plane. We arrived at Mexico City early at 2300H and when we were taxiing at the tarmac, I suddenly felt the numbness which even made me more worried.
I was worried what will happen next when I got out of the airport because I don't know where to get a taxi on this strange city (although I went here three times already but those trips I had assistance from my friend). After alighting from the plane, I then headed to the immigration to get stamped and there was no problem there. I got through without any questions.
I then went to retrieve my luggage at carousel 19 and 20 then looked for a money exchange and changed my dollars to the Mexican peso. I then went out of the immigration lobby after I turned in my customs declaration form and then looked for a booth that schedule for a taxi. I then asked the lady that I needed a taxi going to Zona Rosa in broken Spanish and I paid the charge or 325 pesos.
She then pointed me to exit at Gate 10 and look for the line of the taxi that was stated on my ticket which says Porto Taxi. It was a long walk going to that gate and luckily I found the line. It was already midnight that time and the night was going deeper and deeper in Mexico City and I'm still at the airport waiting for my taxi to drop me off at my hotel in Zona Rosa. It was kinda nippy at that time and good thing I am wearing a jacket enough to warm me up until the taxi will arrive.
Few minutes later a big white suburban truck came and the old man manning and regulating the line told me to hop in so I handed him back my ticket for verification and then gave my luggage to the cute driver with curly hair. My God, taxis in Mexico City were huge. It was very spacious in that suburban taxi and I enjoyed the night view of the city while we were silently driving going to Zona Rosa. It reminded me of my previous visits full of memories. I broke the ice and greeted the cute driver "Ola" and then he asked me if I can speak Spanish and I told him "Poquito". We talked about the weather and about the traffic which is not apparent during those times.
We arrived at Zona Rosa after twenty minutes. The freeway has no traffic that's why we arrived at my hotel fast. After dropping me off at the hotel, I then checked in at the reception and then paid my courtesy at the receptionist and then he handed me the key to my room after signing all the necessary papers for my three days stay here in Mexico City.
Now that I safely arrived at my hotel, all the apprehensions and anticipatory anxiety were immediately dissipated. I conquered all my fears and I did it alone. I am proud of myself and I congratulated myself for a job well done. I am very very exhausted right now but I have to blog first because I just don't want to pass my eagerness to write my experiences today and suffer forgetting them have I not insisted to finish it.
Tomorrow will be a brand new day for me and again more challenges ahead. It will be a long day tomorrow and I am planning to tour again the zocalo, the Metropolitan Church, and maybe the National Palace if I have enough time. I am also planning to go back to Xochimilco, who knows. But for now, I am going to hit the sack and get ready for a very long day tomorrow. Adios mi amigos y amigas. Muy amable y bien gracias!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Five More Days Then I'm Off To Mexico
Yes..... the anticipation starts to escalate as my impeding long vacation to Mexico is looming right at the corner. What awaits for me there is a big question mark. I myself doesn't know what will happen. All I know is that I am going there to improve my Spanish and that's it. Hopefully, my goal will be realized. I am not really excited for the apprehensions had numbed me for it.
Despite how I felt I still can't imagine what to expect. I've been to Mexico several times yet I never felt like this before. If there's a chance to back-out I might probably consider it but it's too late already. I am just apprehensive and I think it is normal for a traveler to feel like that. I hope for the best though and hopefully everything will turn out well.
I've been slaving myself to work for seven days so that I can have a two days off before I left just to a lot it for the packing. Honestly, I haven't packed yet. Hopefully, I will manage to make it easy. So this coming Tuesday, I might rest off and then do the packing on Wednesday once I recuperated from my fatigue of working for seven straight days. I am happy that I finally took a personal decision to take a break from my very hectic schedule. It had really burned me out so I needed this much needed brake. Thank God!
My trip had not sunk in yet. I never felt excited about it. All I wanted to do right now is to finish working seven days then plan out about it. I knew all the hotels were booked and reservations were all made. All I needed to do is to plan out every day activities so that this trip will be fruitful and productive. Hopefully, it will be fun.
My anxiety right now was up to the brim. It had made me numb that's why I never felt eager and excited about it. I am just not focused about it for I have a lot in my mind lately. A lot of problems had surfaced it. The problems with my car, the typhoon tragedy in the Philippines, finishing up my schedule before embarking on this long vacation and a lot of things that had cropped up and made me worry too much. It was mind boggling.
Excitement is not the priority now. I felt that I have to take things one at a time so that I can focus well. Thinking or worrying of the unknown defeats my ability to make wise decisions and now this anticipatory anxiety had rendered me not fully focused to my goals. It's strange for me to be like this. Procrastination is not my cup of tea but it is happening I guess. I am really scared of the outcome. Haist.
I guess I am making my life very complicated when things seems easy. I don't know what is happening to me. Could it be because I am lonely or maybe depress. See... I am still on a verge of denial. I still refuse to accept that there is a problem about me. It really had affected my judgement and clouded my decisions. I am not behaving the way I am before.
The apartment needs a lot of cleaning and organizing and doing my chores was even been set aside because I am busy. I always made my fatigue and hectic schedule as an alibi to not tackle and handle my responsibilities well when in fact there is something wrong about me. And it affected my decisions and preparation for this trip for I haven't accomplished anything yet. Even doing the packing was not yet done. It seems that the answer for me is to cram just like I've been doing all the time when I was still in college.
I dreaded this kind of habit but I let it to happen. I know I can hurdle this challenge yet I never started the first step yet. Thinking of it just worried me so much but I have to face this setback alone and no one else. My mind says to plan but my body was really tired and begged for rest. That's why I haven't done anything yet because my mind and body are clashing each other which made me highly anxious and apprehensive.
Hopefully, this vacation will be a soul searching experience to make me aware of my self subservience. I have to walk the walk for there is no one else to help me. I am more mature enough to do this so I have to rely on my inner belief and skills to face the odds. This trip is also intended for knowing my strengths and weaknesses and it will be a good avenue to pinpoint what's needed to be eliminated and what's needed to be change.
Challenge comes in many forms and for this I have to equip myself with courage to face the odds. The odd is I don't know what will I face and I have to be ready for what will be coming. Hopefully, I will be ready and will make wise decisions in the end. I am just hopeful that this trip will change me and make me more brave to face every thing that life will throw on me. I hope I will not falter and will end up victorious in the end. So help me God.
Despite how I felt I still can't imagine what to expect. I've been to Mexico several times yet I never felt like this before. If there's a chance to back-out I might probably consider it but it's too late already. I am just apprehensive and I think it is normal for a traveler to feel like that. I hope for the best though and hopefully everything will turn out well.
I've been slaving myself to work for seven days so that I can have a two days off before I left just to a lot it for the packing. Honestly, I haven't packed yet. Hopefully, I will manage to make it easy. So this coming Tuesday, I might rest off and then do the packing on Wednesday once I recuperated from my fatigue of working for seven straight days. I am happy that I finally took a personal decision to take a break from my very hectic schedule. It had really burned me out so I needed this much needed brake. Thank God!
My trip had not sunk in yet. I never felt excited about it. All I wanted to do right now is to finish working seven days then plan out about it. I knew all the hotels were booked and reservations were all made. All I needed to do is to plan out every day activities so that this trip will be fruitful and productive. Hopefully, it will be fun.
My anxiety right now was up to the brim. It had made me numb that's why I never felt eager and excited about it. I am just not focused about it for I have a lot in my mind lately. A lot of problems had surfaced it. The problems with my car, the typhoon tragedy in the Philippines, finishing up my schedule before embarking on this long vacation and a lot of things that had cropped up and made me worry too much. It was mind boggling.
Excitement is not the priority now. I felt that I have to take things one at a time so that I can focus well. Thinking or worrying of the unknown defeats my ability to make wise decisions and now this anticipatory anxiety had rendered me not fully focused to my goals. It's strange for me to be like this. Procrastination is not my cup of tea but it is happening I guess. I am really scared of the outcome. Haist.
I guess I am making my life very complicated when things seems easy. I don't know what is happening to me. Could it be because I am lonely or maybe depress. See... I am still on a verge of denial. I still refuse to accept that there is a problem about me. It really had affected my judgement and clouded my decisions. I am not behaving the way I am before.
The apartment needs a lot of cleaning and organizing and doing my chores was even been set aside because I am busy. I always made my fatigue and hectic schedule as an alibi to not tackle and handle my responsibilities well when in fact there is something wrong about me. And it affected my decisions and preparation for this trip for I haven't accomplished anything yet. Even doing the packing was not yet done. It seems that the answer for me is to cram just like I've been doing all the time when I was still in college.
I dreaded this kind of habit but I let it to happen. I know I can hurdle this challenge yet I never started the first step yet. Thinking of it just worried me so much but I have to face this setback alone and no one else. My mind says to plan but my body was really tired and begged for rest. That's why I haven't done anything yet because my mind and body are clashing each other which made me highly anxious and apprehensive.
Hopefully, this vacation will be a soul searching experience to make me aware of my self subservience. I have to walk the walk for there is no one else to help me. I am more mature enough to do this so I have to rely on my inner belief and skills to face the odds. This trip is also intended for knowing my strengths and weaknesses and it will be a good avenue to pinpoint what's needed to be eliminated and what's needed to be change.
Challenge comes in many forms and for this I have to equip myself with courage to face the odds. The odd is I don't know what will I face and I have to be ready for what will be coming. Hopefully, I will be ready and will make wise decisions in the end. I am just hopeful that this trip will change me and make me more brave to face every thing that life will throw on me. I hope I will not falter and will end up victorious in the end. So help me God.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Remembering My Parents
Yesterday was the day of the dead in my country and for us Filipinos we always celebrate it annually to remember our dearly departed ones who left us and live happily ever after in the other life. I don't know but it's been our culture to celebrate it every November 1st and I've been accustomed to it while growing up.
Both my dear parents had already passed away and for this day I will remember them as my family will be celebrating the "Day of Dead". Over here in America, this celebration is not being observed. Culturally, only in the Philippines and Mexico celebrate this kind of event.
I remember when I was little we used to go to the cemetery and visit our dearly departed ones, bring them flowers, light a candle, and utter some prayers for their eternal rest. It was a very solemn event but for us kids we make it as an excuse to play and roam around the cemetery and look for our classmates and friends and collect melted candles and make some wax balls. We even were competing to make the biggest wax ball. We also recycle it by using it to wax the manual flat iron to keep it from not geting rusty.
We also go around the cemetery and follow th epriest praying from tomb to tomb and sprinkling holy water. We used to follow the "grannies" or female elders chanting a religious mantra and then laugh at it when it's offbeat. It was a hilarious experience and I missed it a lot. I wish I could go home and experience it hands-on. But it only happens in my dreams I guess.
My parents were a very noble couple. Dad is a very strict disciplanarian. A martinet per se. He was emulated for hus firmness and compassion as a father. He is responsible and provide us financial sustenance for our studies. We don't have to look for a job while going to college because dad always makes sure that all our financial needs were been taking cared of and that all we do is to concentrate on our studies. I consider him the best dad in the whole world.
What I don't like about him is his vices. He is an alcoholic and a chronic smoker which cause a toll on his age at a very young age. He lost his kidney function because of alcohol and was been diagnosed for cirrhosis and end stage renal disease requiring him to have hemodialysis three times a weak. His health had declined so fast and he died at a young age of 55-years-old.
My mom is an elementary teacher and was the most caring mom in the world. She is very supportive to my dad and a very loyal wife. She didn't remarry after dad died and just focused on taking care of us while we were studying as well as taking care of her grandkids after she retired.
Mon was a little overweight and I specifically told her to lose some pounds because of her late age but she was a stubborn lady eating foods that she's not suppose to include in her diet. At a young age of 62 she experienced a bad stroke which took her independence away beacause of paralysis. She got depressed after that and she declined rapidly.
A year later, she suffered a massive stroke which was more worse compared to the first one and had her stayed in the intensive care unit for two weeks. When she got home she was been put on couple of anticonvulsant because of the danger of having a massive seizure due to the effect of the bleeding stroke. She had declined progressively after that until she died at the age of 74-years-old.
I missed both of my doting parents and for this "day of the Dead" I am trying to remember them although I always remember them every day of my life for I could not be where I am without their passionate love for each other. To you both, Mom and Dad, I love you both with all my heart. Rest in peace and I wish you both eternal happiness with the Almighty God. Thanks for your unconditional love and I always remember you both. Take care Mom and Dad. I love you both!
Both my dear parents had already passed away and for this day I will remember them as my family will be celebrating the "Day of Dead". Over here in America, this celebration is not being observed. Culturally, only in the Philippines and Mexico celebrate this kind of event.
I remember when I was little we used to go to the cemetery and visit our dearly departed ones, bring them flowers, light a candle, and utter some prayers for their eternal rest. It was a very solemn event but for us kids we make it as an excuse to play and roam around the cemetery and look for our classmates and friends and collect melted candles and make some wax balls. We even were competing to make the biggest wax ball. We also recycle it by using it to wax the manual flat iron to keep it from not geting rusty.
We also go around the cemetery and follow th epriest praying from tomb to tomb and sprinkling holy water. We used to follow the "grannies" or female elders chanting a religious mantra and then laugh at it when it's offbeat. It was a hilarious experience and I missed it a lot. I wish I could go home and experience it hands-on. But it only happens in my dreams I guess.
My parents were a very noble couple. Dad is a very strict disciplanarian. A martinet per se. He was emulated for hus firmness and compassion as a father. He is responsible and provide us financial sustenance for our studies. We don't have to look for a job while going to college because dad always makes sure that all our financial needs were been taking cared of and that all we do is to concentrate on our studies. I consider him the best dad in the whole world.
What I don't like about him is his vices. He is an alcoholic and a chronic smoker which cause a toll on his age at a very young age. He lost his kidney function because of alcohol and was been diagnosed for cirrhosis and end stage renal disease requiring him to have hemodialysis three times a weak. His health had declined so fast and he died at a young age of 55-years-old.
My mom is an elementary teacher and was the most caring mom in the world. She is very supportive to my dad and a very loyal wife. She didn't remarry after dad died and just focused on taking care of us while we were studying as well as taking care of her grandkids after she retired.
Mon was a little overweight and I specifically told her to lose some pounds because of her late age but she was a stubborn lady eating foods that she's not suppose to include in her diet. At a young age of 62 she experienced a bad stroke which took her independence away beacause of paralysis. She got depressed after that and she declined rapidly.
A year later, she suffered a massive stroke which was more worse compared to the first one and had her stayed in the intensive care unit for two weeks. When she got home she was been put on couple of anticonvulsant because of the danger of having a massive seizure due to the effect of the bleeding stroke. She had declined progressively after that until she died at the age of 74-years-old.
I missed both of my doting parents and for this "day of the Dead" I am trying to remember them although I always remember them every day of my life for I could not be where I am without their passionate love for each other. To you both, Mom and Dad, I love you both with all my heart. Rest in peace and I wish you both eternal happiness with the Almighty God. Thanks for your unconditional love and I always remember you both. Take care Mom and Dad. I love you both!
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Celebrating My 44th Birthday
Getting old had given me a big toll and I can't believe I am four scores and four years more and counting. It feels like a smorgasbord feeling actually. So many choices but a little to accomplish. I am basically pressured.The continuity of life is a mystery to me. Why do we have to age? Why do we celebrate birthdays? I grew up not really accustomed to celebrating my birthdays because my parents were kind of not really particular about it. I saw my big brothers and sisters having pictures with big celebration and pictures blowing cakes but I never recalled that I had a cake prepared during my past birthdays.
That probably had made me so passive about celebrating my birthdays. Honestly, it was weird but I kind of figured it out that way. Now, that I am mature enough to understand why, I now know the significance of commemorating someone's birthday. Yes, it is a known fact that being born on this world is a blessing and it is very significant, thus people celebrate. It is an opportunity to experience the rigors of life. Now I understand. What I don't understand is that why we have to succumb to getting old and some way or the other will eventually regress like a child. It pains me a lot to remember my mom and dad in this way. And I don't want to experience it that way.
Anyways, my birthday has started on a wrong foot. I felt so unfortunate that things had happened in a bad start. But all throughout it was fun though. Yesterday, I decided to pick up my car from the dealer because my agent had called me that it was ready. He warned me that the alternator was kinda weak and he told me about the estimates. I asked him how long it will last and he didn't gave me a rough estimated period of time. Thinking that it will last for couple weeks I decided to pick the car up yesterday. He didn't even discourage me nor encourage me to have the alternator fixed. He didn't even warned me not to use a lot of gadgets because it will used up the power. He just let me pick up the car and never warned me anything.
I took the car and drove it home. It drove okay, yes. I then prepared myself for the date that I gonna have for my pre-birthday bash planned for me by my co-workers at Noypitz in Glendale. I left the house, still the car was driving well. At the freeway, I lost the exit and drove over to Burbank, and then I realized that I was lost. I even reached at the Warner Bros. Studios and Saint Joseph Hospital in Burbank and there I finally confirmed that I am lost. I can't believe I just did it, but the car was still driving okay and has no problems or whatsoever.
I tried to regroup myself and reprogrammed the GPS then decided to follow the direction until I hit Freeway 134 going North then I felt that I was on the right track. When I arrived at the place there was no parking and the parking structure was closed and gated. I roamed around and checked for an available spot near the church across the restaurant. I parked and when Ihopped out of the car I figured out that I parked on the bus stop, which is illegal. Then I decided to valet park and gave my car keys to the parking guy. After several minutes the guy came back and told me that the car won't start and he handed the keys back to me.
I went to check the car and tried to start it but it just make a gurgling sound so I was alarmed. I thought it was due to the battery but I won't believe it because the battery was been changed two weeks ago, and it was brand new. Then, I have no option but to make myself believe that it was probably the alternator that my dealer agent had told me before I picked up the car. I have no know-how about cars but I have to conform with my gut feeling that it was the alternator. Well,of all the days to act up my car chose to do it on my date night for my birthday with my colleagues. What a bummer!
I then put the emergency signal light, because I was illegally parked on the bus stop, then immediately called Triple A for consultation and to send someone to check out the car. The lady on the other line said the help will come in thirty minutes. Few minutes after I called Mark and Lalaine came and I told them what happened. Lalaine went inside the restaurant to confirm the reservation then Mark stayed with me to wait for the service guy.
At exactly thirty minutes after I called for help the guy came and I told him about what happened and then he proceed to check the car. After inspection he confirmed that it was the dead alternator. So basically, I have no ride home. I then called Triple A again and asked for a towing service to tow my car at my apartment so that I can bring it at the dealer in the morning. I told the operator that I am at a restaurant celebrating my birthday so I needed the towing before midnight after the dinner party.
I left the car on the side street with the blinking emergency light and then went in the restaurant to eat. Some of my co-workers were there and they meet me with open arms and smile greeting me for my birthday. I hid my worries about my car trouble by putting a good smile and returned the hugs that they've given me but deep inside my thoughts went to my car worries thinking that I will spend more money again for the repairs. I just shored out almost three grand for the repair of the engine's rack and pinion yesterday when I picked up the car, and now this new problem had arised. I felt that I am unfortunately not blessed on this birthday that I have.
After celebrating my previous birthdays with happy faces now my birthday was been faced with alot of car trouble and expenses. I felt that I might probably trade in this car and buy a new one. I was so worried how many more car trouble I will face in the future with this car. I am so worried. I am bound for a vacation next month and I already touched my pocket money and aloowance set aside for that vacation to pay for the repairs. Aaaah.... I am so lost, on my birthday.
But anyway, despite of these troubles, I have to face the moment that I am here now celebrating my 44th birthday at Noypitz Resto withmy colleagues and I have to deal with this for the moment. At least, the towing service will come later so I have enough time to enjoy even thought I am not fully 100% pumped up for the occasion.
We ordered foods and chatted with my colleagues. My boss was also there and some of my close friends at work. It couldn't be denied that I am worried, they knew, but I have to at least keep the occasion fitting so I put on a happy face and enjoyed the moment fleetingly. I am not so wired about it but I am at least holding myself up just for the occasion. I thanked my colleagues for putting up this party for me and I don't want to ruin it just because of my car.
The food came and we started to eat and talk and then they sang a "Happy Birthday" song for me. I blow the blueberry cake that I brought and we took a lot of pictures after that. Then we went to the dance floor and started to join the line dancing. The band was so good and we'd enjoyed teh dancing part.
We went back to our table and continued toeat our food. I even forgot that my car was outside. And all my worries were gone for that few small moements enjoying the company of my co-workers celebrating my birthday with me. It was the most touching moments I've had during that night and I just could not contain myself despite of the unfortunate situation that had happened tomy car.
We disbanded at midnight after taking pictures at the red carpet outside the restaurant then the towing truck had arrived. After saying goodbyes and thanking my friends I then went out and met the towing guy and explained the situation and my plans to tow the car to my place then he set-up the car and pulled it up on the big truck then after that we took off and towed the car to Lemon Grove Avenue where I live.
Yeah, that was the unfortunate situation that had happened during my birthday and I couldn't forget it all through out my life. Now I am "carless" on my birthday and is planning to get a rental car in the morrow after I will drop off the car at the dealer. Then tommorow I am scheduled to watch "Totem" a Cirque du Soliel show at the Los Angeles Harbor which I had planned a a treat for myself on my birthday. I felt good now that I got home safe despite of what had happened to my car. And hopefully tomorrow on my birthday everything will be fruitful and productive. Good night!
That probably had made me so passive about celebrating my birthdays. Honestly, it was weird but I kind of figured it out that way. Now, that I am mature enough to understand why, I now know the significance of commemorating someone's birthday. Yes, it is a known fact that being born on this world is a blessing and it is very significant, thus people celebrate. It is an opportunity to experience the rigors of life. Now I understand. What I don't understand is that why we have to succumb to getting old and some way or the other will eventually regress like a child. It pains me a lot to remember my mom and dad in this way. And I don't want to experience it that way.
Anyways, my birthday has started on a wrong foot. I felt so unfortunate that things had happened in a bad start. But all throughout it was fun though. Yesterday, I decided to pick up my car from the dealer because my agent had called me that it was ready. He warned me that the alternator was kinda weak and he told me about the estimates. I asked him how long it will last and he didn't gave me a rough estimated period of time. Thinking that it will last for couple weeks I decided to pick the car up yesterday. He didn't even discourage me nor encourage me to have the alternator fixed. He didn't even warned me not to use a lot of gadgets because it will used up the power. He just let me pick up the car and never warned me anything.
I took the car and drove it home. It drove okay, yes. I then prepared myself for the date that I gonna have for my pre-birthday bash planned for me by my co-workers at Noypitz in Glendale. I left the house, still the car was driving well. At the freeway, I lost the exit and drove over to Burbank, and then I realized that I was lost. I even reached at the Warner Bros. Studios and Saint Joseph Hospital in Burbank and there I finally confirmed that I am lost. I can't believe I just did it, but the car was still driving okay and has no problems or whatsoever.
I tried to regroup myself and reprogrammed the GPS then decided to follow the direction until I hit Freeway 134 going North then I felt that I was on the right track. When I arrived at the place there was no parking and the parking structure was closed and gated. I roamed around and checked for an available spot near the church across the restaurant. I parked and when Ihopped out of the car I figured out that I parked on the bus stop, which is illegal. Then I decided to valet park and gave my car keys to the parking guy. After several minutes the guy came back and told me that the car won't start and he handed the keys back to me.
I went to check the car and tried to start it but it just make a gurgling sound so I was alarmed. I thought it was due to the battery but I won't believe it because the battery was been changed two weeks ago, and it was brand new. Then, I have no option but to make myself believe that it was probably the alternator that my dealer agent had told me before I picked up the car. I have no know-how about cars but I have to conform with my gut feeling that it was the alternator. Well,of all the days to act up my car chose to do it on my date night for my birthday with my colleagues. What a bummer!
I then put the emergency signal light, because I was illegally parked on the bus stop, then immediately called Triple A for consultation and to send someone to check out the car. The lady on the other line said the help will come in thirty minutes. Few minutes after I called Mark and Lalaine came and I told them what happened. Lalaine went inside the restaurant to confirm the reservation then Mark stayed with me to wait for the service guy.
At exactly thirty minutes after I called for help the guy came and I told him about what happened and then he proceed to check the car. After inspection he confirmed that it was the dead alternator. So basically, I have no ride home. I then called Triple A again and asked for a towing service to tow my car at my apartment so that I can bring it at the dealer in the morning. I told the operator that I am at a restaurant celebrating my birthday so I needed the towing before midnight after the dinner party.
I left the car on the side street with the blinking emergency light and then went in the restaurant to eat. Some of my co-workers were there and they meet me with open arms and smile greeting me for my birthday. I hid my worries about my car trouble by putting a good smile and returned the hugs that they've given me but deep inside my thoughts went to my car worries thinking that I will spend more money again for the repairs. I just shored out almost three grand for the repair of the engine's rack and pinion yesterday when I picked up the car, and now this new problem had arised. I felt that I am unfortunately not blessed on this birthday that I have.
After celebrating my previous birthdays with happy faces now my birthday was been faced with alot of car trouble and expenses. I felt that I might probably trade in this car and buy a new one. I was so worried how many more car trouble I will face in the future with this car. I am so worried. I am bound for a vacation next month and I already touched my pocket money and aloowance set aside for that vacation to pay for the repairs. Aaaah.... I am so lost, on my birthday.
But anyway, despite of these troubles, I have to face the moment that I am here now celebrating my 44th birthday at Noypitz Resto withmy colleagues and I have to deal with this for the moment. At least, the towing service will come later so I have enough time to enjoy even thought I am not fully 100% pumped up for the occasion.
We ordered foods and chatted with my colleagues. My boss was also there and some of my close friends at work. It couldn't be denied that I am worried, they knew, but I have to at least keep the occasion fitting so I put on a happy face and enjoyed the moment fleetingly. I am not so wired about it but I am at least holding myself up just for the occasion. I thanked my colleagues for putting up this party for me and I don't want to ruin it just because of my car.
The food came and we started to eat and talk and then they sang a "Happy Birthday" song for me. I blow the blueberry cake that I brought and we took a lot of pictures after that. Then we went to the dance floor and started to join the line dancing. The band was so good and we'd enjoyed teh dancing part.
We went back to our table and continued toeat our food. I even forgot that my car was outside. And all my worries were gone for that few small moements enjoying the company of my co-workers celebrating my birthday with me. It was the most touching moments I've had during that night and I just could not contain myself despite of the unfortunate situation that had happened tomy car.
We disbanded at midnight after taking pictures at the red carpet outside the restaurant then the towing truck had arrived. After saying goodbyes and thanking my friends I then went out and met the towing guy and explained the situation and my plans to tow the car to my place then he set-up the car and pulled it up on the big truck then after that we took off and towed the car to Lemon Grove Avenue where I live.
Yeah, that was the unfortunate situation that had happened during my birthday and I couldn't forget it all through out my life. Now I am "carless" on my birthday and is planning to get a rental car in the morrow after I will drop off the car at the dealer. Then tommorow I am scheduled to watch "Totem" a Cirque du Soliel show at the Los Angeles Harbor which I had planned a a treat for myself on my birthday. I felt good now that I got home safe despite of what had happened to my car. And hopefully tomorrow on my birthday everything will be fruitful and productive. Good night!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Pre-expectations For My Birthday
Every time I celebrate my annual birthday I usually plan out where I gonna celebrate it. I always come up with an idea to spend time for myself for the whole day. For me it's my day so I have to spend it just for me and me alone. But lately, it seems that getting older had gave a toll on me and I doesn't really expect more to happen because maybe of fear of losing a lot of things like my independence, my physicality, my intelligence, and a lot of things. It kind of scaring me off expecting for something to happen which I usually do before my birthday.
I've been celebrating my birthday most of the time by requesting and doing vacations or maybe having fun in the parks or playgrounds, and those had given me vivid memories that I still treasure forever. It kind of bringing me back to those days reliving what had happened during my birthday.
I've celebrated my birthday in Palm Springs sometime ago and booked a room in one of the resort there (where I forget the name) then had basked myself under the sun and enjoyed the whole day doing spa treatment, sweat in the sauna, and pamper myself just because it is my birthday. It was such a different experience to have done that.
I celebrated my birthday in Italy two years back and that one was also unforgettable. Strolling at the cobblestone streets of Turin, Italy had brought me a lot of unfaded memories that always had reverberated inside my unconsciousness and made me realized that I am a lucky person. Trying on succulent pizzas you may never tasted in your whole life was a blistering blast. I just couldn't ask for more at that time. Italy had given me one of my unforgettable birthday celebration ever. I am so blessed to have it.
Last year, I celebrated my birthday with friends and classmate at the most happiest place on earth..... Disneyland! It was fun regressing and acting like a child again. It gave me at least one day to enjoy being a child.... unihibited despite I am not. Hopping from Disneyland to Disney California Adventure was loaded with memories indelibly inked in my subconscious mind. Meeting with the most celebrated couple..... Mickey and Minnie, was again the icing of the day. I had a blast!
This year, I am planning for a simple birthday. I am working during that dayanyway. I didn't intend to have an off because of my pending one-month vacation in November to Mexico, so I have to maintain the tight end of my pants so that I can enjoy my vacation next month. It was a pinching sacrifice I can wage a war on. I will be working in the clinical rotations during the morning and will meet with my co-workers at "Noypitz", a Filipino comedy bar in Glendale, CA to eat, sing, and party. We will then be doing karaoke and watched a comedy show at the restaurant after a hearty dinner. It sounds fun to me!
The following day, I have a date with my landlord and his boyfriend Joaquin. We will be going out in the evening to eat out then Julio is planning for us to watch a movie. Pretty simple but spending time with my bestfriends is awesome and priceless. There is no words to describe celebrating birthdays with my beloved friends who were very loyal, kind, and caring to me. At least they are family to me now, because I always had consider them as such after living at the house for eight years. It will be an interesting night with them.
This year, I am not expecting to have a high-end birthday bash. All I just wanted is to celebrate my day alone. After my clinical rotations I will be preparing myself to have a dinner alone at "Chi Spacca" (a contemporary Italian chain restaurant by the acclaimed Mario Batali) and will be planning to eat the famous lamb racks. I had reserved this dinner two weeks early in anticipation of my big day. I will be enjoying my food and paired wine that will match my ordered food. At least I can have my alone time and enjoy every moment of it...... happeniing only on my birthday.
After the dinner, I will be going to San Pedro to watch a Cirque de Soliel show called "Totem" which I had booked a month early because the show is always sold out. I just don't want to end up waiting for a long line for just one ticket during my birthday. I have to plan out everything early so that everything will flow out smoothly without any hindrance. Hopefully, the show will titillate me and as well as entertain me for that was my ultimate goal anyway during my birthday.
I just couldn't wait celebrating my birthday alone and make out the most of it. For sure, my Facebook page will be loaded and bombarded with online greetings and well wishes coming from my families and friends abroad. I will be a year old yet, here I am acting like I never aged. A denial everyone normally does especially when it comes to issues of getting old. Hahaha. I don't know why getting old is always a sensitive issue or topic to some? For me, it doesn't matter how old a person is, what matters for me is the inside beauty of the person whether he is young or old.
My birthday will be in four days. Anticipation boils.... angst gets hightened..... expectations are burning...... and the wait gets nearer and nearer. I am not scared of it but am loving the idea that I will be in harmony with myself, now that the reality of getting old is imminent and looming everywhere. I am just cool about and will just wait for it to happen naturally. In the end, the fact that I'm a one year old higher could not be contested and reversed anyway.
I will eventually get old and will get awefully wrinkled. What is important is I had build up a lot of integrity and had made some very few good friends to treasure with. Life is indeed fluid. It does reminds me that life is only temporary and there is no permanence in it.
I've been celebrating my birthday most of the time by requesting and doing vacations or maybe having fun in the parks or playgrounds, and those had given me vivid memories that I still treasure forever. It kind of bringing me back to those days reliving what had happened during my birthday.
I've celebrated my birthday in Palm Springs sometime ago and booked a room in one of the resort there (where I forget the name) then had basked myself under the sun and enjoyed the whole day doing spa treatment, sweat in the sauna, and pamper myself just because it is my birthday. It was such a different experience to have done that.
I celebrated my birthday in Italy two years back and that one was also unforgettable. Strolling at the cobblestone streets of Turin, Italy had brought me a lot of unfaded memories that always had reverberated inside my unconsciousness and made me realized that I am a lucky person. Trying on succulent pizzas you may never tasted in your whole life was a blistering blast. I just couldn't ask for more at that time. Italy had given me one of my unforgettable birthday celebration ever. I am so blessed to have it.
Last year, I celebrated my birthday with friends and classmate at the most happiest place on earth..... Disneyland! It was fun regressing and acting like a child again. It gave me at least one day to enjoy being a child.... unihibited despite I am not. Hopping from Disneyland to Disney California Adventure was loaded with memories indelibly inked in my subconscious mind. Meeting with the most celebrated couple..... Mickey and Minnie, was again the icing of the day. I had a blast!
This year, I am planning for a simple birthday. I am working during that dayanyway. I didn't intend to have an off because of my pending one-month vacation in November to Mexico, so I have to maintain the tight end of my pants so that I can enjoy my vacation next month. It was a pinching sacrifice I can wage a war on. I will be working in the clinical rotations during the morning and will meet with my co-workers at "Noypitz", a Filipino comedy bar in Glendale, CA to eat, sing, and party. We will then be doing karaoke and watched a comedy show at the restaurant after a hearty dinner. It sounds fun to me!
The following day, I have a date with my landlord and his boyfriend Joaquin. We will be going out in the evening to eat out then Julio is planning for us to watch a movie. Pretty simple but spending time with my bestfriends is awesome and priceless. There is no words to describe celebrating birthdays with my beloved friends who were very loyal, kind, and caring to me. At least they are family to me now, because I always had consider them as such after living at the house for eight years. It will be an interesting night with them.
This year, I am not expecting to have a high-end birthday bash. All I just wanted is to celebrate my day alone. After my clinical rotations I will be preparing myself to have a dinner alone at "Chi Spacca" (a contemporary Italian chain restaurant by the acclaimed Mario Batali) and will be planning to eat the famous lamb racks. I had reserved this dinner two weeks early in anticipation of my big day. I will be enjoying my food and paired wine that will match my ordered food. At least I can have my alone time and enjoy every moment of it...... happeniing only on my birthday.
After the dinner, I will be going to San Pedro to watch a Cirque de Soliel show called "Totem" which I had booked a month early because the show is always sold out. I just don't want to end up waiting for a long line for just one ticket during my birthday. I have to plan out everything early so that everything will flow out smoothly without any hindrance. Hopefully, the show will titillate me and as well as entertain me for that was my ultimate goal anyway during my birthday.
I just couldn't wait celebrating my birthday alone and make out the most of it. For sure, my Facebook page will be loaded and bombarded with online greetings and well wishes coming from my families and friends abroad. I will be a year old yet, here I am acting like I never aged. A denial everyone normally does especially when it comes to issues of getting old. Hahaha. I don't know why getting old is always a sensitive issue or topic to some? For me, it doesn't matter how old a person is, what matters for me is the inside beauty of the person whether he is young or old.
My birthday will be in four days. Anticipation boils.... angst gets hightened..... expectations are burning...... and the wait gets nearer and nearer. I am not scared of it but am loving the idea that I will be in harmony with myself, now that the reality of getting old is imminent and looming everywhere. I am just cool about and will just wait for it to happen naturally. In the end, the fact that I'm a one year old higher could not be contested and reversed anyway.
I will eventually get old and will get awefully wrinkled. What is important is I had build up a lot of integrity and had made some very few good friends to treasure with. Life is indeed fluid. It does reminds me that life is only temporary and there is no permanence in it.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
A Sensible Anticipation
In one-month time I will be embarking for a long journey and vacation in Mexico. I had planned it out several months ago and now it's looming around. I am quite anxious about it and doesn't really know what to expect. Hopefully, everything will turn out well and that I will be having a blast and a memorable vacation.
I will be going to Puebla, Mexico to enrich my Spanish knowledge, because I signed up for an intensive three weeks advanced Spanish immersion class which will ultimately improved my knowledge about Spanish, how to talk effectively and use the much dreaded conjugations successfully. I've been planning about joining the classes several years back but because of my intensively hectic and busy schedule at work, I had postponed the plans several times as well. Now, I can't believe that it will be realized. I am greatly excited!
So much to think about it, so much to plan as well. The anticipation was just piling up continuously. I am overly overwhelmed and at the same time I am greatly delighted to have it done. I just can't wait for it to happen. It's gradually killing me on what to prepare and plan. I have a lot of things in mind and I don't think I can accommodate all of them. It had pretty much temporarily blanked me out to a point that I can't think purposefully anymore.
But things needed to be decisively planned and prepared and I have to do it as much as possible while I still have enough time and while it is still early. I have to know what to permanently and temporarily expect from this vacation so that I can plan out my desired activities well according to those laid out expectations that I needed to meet or accomplish. It's the hardest situation to be in, if you don't know yet.
Planning on what important things to bring, what to do effectively, what to see and enjoy visibly, where to go to have fun and learn about the place, and other major as well as minor things to cover during this trip was very enormous to tackle. I have to strictly and cautiously pick and chose the most important and necessary things to do and cover, so that I can enjoy my long vacation. I don't want to marginally cram on this trip so I have to decisively plan it out well.
These previous days, I have made some reservations already. I already bought my ticket for my flights last June. I have to fly to Mexico City from Los Angeles and stay there for the weekend to party and browse the city again, then after that I will take an airconditioned bus going to Puebla on a Monday and will report to the Spanish school for the welcome party. Then I will stay there for three weeks for the intensive Spanish class and the much anticipated volunteer work.
After three weeks, I will fly to Chatumal in the state of Quintana Roo to check another Mayan ruins there, then take the bus going to Tulum after two days to check another different Mayan ruins near a beach, then two days after will go to Playa del Carmen to snorkel at Cozumel, then stop at Cancun the following two days and stay there for three days to enjoy the white sandy beaches then head back to Los Angeles. If I have enough time I might cross the strait and go to Havana..... who knows. We'll see!
All the hotel reservations were been made and paid off as well with the assurance that I can cancel it one day before the check-in if something wrong happens. All the necessary paperworks were been filed in one folder so that I can keep track of my itineraries. I even meticulously made a table of my schedule to organized myself. It was been revised several times to fit my daily agenda.
Now, I have to meticulously plan out on what things and places to do and go when I will be there so I've been conscientiously browsing the internet with determination on what places that are appropriate to visit when I will be there, although I have some few specific places that I was eyeing to visit eventually. I can't wait! I also can't wait for the night travels by an airconditioned bus as I hop from one town to another.
Another thing that I needed to prepare are my wardrobes. I don't know what to prepare and stuff in my luggage. I was planning to travel light because I have experienced in my previous travels that bringing a big luggage and have it towed wherever I go was really hard and a big struggle and burden. So, I have to do my best to just stuff few of my clothes, shoes, and other stuff in a light carry-on luggage to enjoy this trip.
So many things to do and plan for this vacation, yet so little time to do it because I am still working two jobs and am very extremely busy all the time. I needed to save more money for this vacation to enjoy it fully and reap the promises and benefits it has to offer. I just don't want to miss on other things that I needed to do there so I needed to shore up enough money for my own personal enjoyment. Hopefully, I will have a blast! Money is also very important so I have to prepare well for this. Although, it is not a problem at all.
Another thing that I needed to plan is where to leave my cutie-patootie chihuahua light-brown dog. I am extremely worried about her when I am gone. I am thinking who will feed her and take care of her when I am gone. I have talked to my landlord personally if he can do it and fortunately I was lucky enough that he said yes. I will surely miss my beloved Diamond! Thirty days is long a long time and I hope she will miss me, too. I will miss her greatly.
I am also worried where to leave my car. In my previous vacations I left my car at the driveway near the house of my landlord and left the keys to him so that he can heat up my engine everyday so as not to give any problems when I'm back. For this vacation, I am planning to leave my car with my landlord again. I am so lucky that my landlord was so kind enough to take care of my beloved dog and my precious car and my apartment as well when I'm gone. I just can't express my happiness for his kindness, benevolence, and for being there all the time for me in case I need his help. He is indeed a very loyal and reliable friend. Thank you very much Julio!
I'm quite excited now albeit I have this numbing feeling that I have butterflies in my stomach. I just can't wait for my vacation to happen and I am anxiously anticipating for it and preparing for what to do and what to expect. It's really hard to plan and to lay them out, as well as schedule the activities that I expected to do during this vacation, but I have to do it, so that I will have an unforgettable sojourn that I can treasure all through out my life. Hopefully, all will be okay. Please help me Lord.
I will be going to Puebla, Mexico to enrich my Spanish knowledge, because I signed up for an intensive three weeks advanced Spanish immersion class which will ultimately improved my knowledge about Spanish, how to talk effectively and use the much dreaded conjugations successfully. I've been planning about joining the classes several years back but because of my intensively hectic and busy schedule at work, I had postponed the plans several times as well. Now, I can't believe that it will be realized. I am greatly excited!
So much to think about it, so much to plan as well. The anticipation was just piling up continuously. I am overly overwhelmed and at the same time I am greatly delighted to have it done. I just can't wait for it to happen. It's gradually killing me on what to prepare and plan. I have a lot of things in mind and I don't think I can accommodate all of them. It had pretty much temporarily blanked me out to a point that I can't think purposefully anymore.
But things needed to be decisively planned and prepared and I have to do it as much as possible while I still have enough time and while it is still early. I have to know what to permanently and temporarily expect from this vacation so that I can plan out my desired activities well according to those laid out expectations that I needed to meet or accomplish. It's the hardest situation to be in, if you don't know yet.
Planning on what important things to bring, what to do effectively, what to see and enjoy visibly, where to go to have fun and learn about the place, and other major as well as minor things to cover during this trip was very enormous to tackle. I have to strictly and cautiously pick and chose the most important and necessary things to do and cover, so that I can enjoy my long vacation. I don't want to marginally cram on this trip so I have to decisively plan it out well.
These previous days, I have made some reservations already. I already bought my ticket for my flights last June. I have to fly to Mexico City from Los Angeles and stay there for the weekend to party and browse the city again, then after that I will take an airconditioned bus going to Puebla on a Monday and will report to the Spanish school for the welcome party. Then I will stay there for three weeks for the intensive Spanish class and the much anticipated volunteer work.
After three weeks, I will fly to Chatumal in the state of Quintana Roo to check another Mayan ruins there, then take the bus going to Tulum after two days to check another different Mayan ruins near a beach, then two days after will go to Playa del Carmen to snorkel at Cozumel, then stop at Cancun the following two days and stay there for three days to enjoy the white sandy beaches then head back to Los Angeles. If I have enough time I might cross the strait and go to Havana..... who knows. We'll see!
All the hotel reservations were been made and paid off as well with the assurance that I can cancel it one day before the check-in if something wrong happens. All the necessary paperworks were been filed in one folder so that I can keep track of my itineraries. I even meticulously made a table of my schedule to organized myself. It was been revised several times to fit my daily agenda.
Now, I have to meticulously plan out on what things and places to do and go when I will be there so I've been conscientiously browsing the internet with determination on what places that are appropriate to visit when I will be there, although I have some few specific places that I was eyeing to visit eventually. I can't wait! I also can't wait for the night travels by an airconditioned bus as I hop from one town to another.
Another thing that I needed to prepare are my wardrobes. I don't know what to prepare and stuff in my luggage. I was planning to travel light because I have experienced in my previous travels that bringing a big luggage and have it towed wherever I go was really hard and a big struggle and burden. So, I have to do my best to just stuff few of my clothes, shoes, and other stuff in a light carry-on luggage to enjoy this trip.
So many things to do and plan for this vacation, yet so little time to do it because I am still working two jobs and am very extremely busy all the time. I needed to save more money for this vacation to enjoy it fully and reap the promises and benefits it has to offer. I just don't want to miss on other things that I needed to do there so I needed to shore up enough money for my own personal enjoyment. Hopefully, I will have a blast! Money is also very important so I have to prepare well for this. Although, it is not a problem at all.
Another thing that I needed to plan is where to leave my cutie-patootie chihuahua light-brown dog. I am extremely worried about her when I am gone. I am thinking who will feed her and take care of her when I am gone. I have talked to my landlord personally if he can do it and fortunately I was lucky enough that he said yes. I will surely miss my beloved Diamond! Thirty days is long a long time and I hope she will miss me, too. I will miss her greatly.
I am also worried where to leave my car. In my previous vacations I left my car at the driveway near the house of my landlord and left the keys to him so that he can heat up my engine everyday so as not to give any problems when I'm back. For this vacation, I am planning to leave my car with my landlord again. I am so lucky that my landlord was so kind enough to take care of my beloved dog and my precious car and my apartment as well when I'm gone. I just can't express my happiness for his kindness, benevolence, and for being there all the time for me in case I need his help. He is indeed a very loyal and reliable friend. Thank you very much Julio!
I'm quite excited now albeit I have this numbing feeling that I have butterflies in my stomach. I just can't wait for my vacation to happen and I am anxiously anticipating for it and preparing for what to do and what to expect. It's really hard to plan and to lay them out, as well as schedule the activities that I expected to do during this vacation, but I have to do it, so that I will have an unforgettable sojourn that I can treasure all through out my life. Hopefully, all will be okay. Please help me Lord.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
A Teribbly Horrifying Feat
Well.... I had a very horrifying experience earlier before I went to work tonight. That was the first that I have experienced and it sucks to know that I couldn't do anything about it when it happened. I was totally helpless at that time. It was a nightmare which I don't want to dream again. I thought I couldn't get away from it and thank God it was already resolved. My body was trembling and I was nervously wrecked at the time it happened. I was totally shaken by the situation.
Today was the longest day of my life, maybe..... I started off with my clinicals at Los Angeles Community Hospital with my second group from Medical Allied Career Center. It was their first day actually because they have to switch with the other group. Our first day went well actually. They were buddied up with each other and took care of five patients in the Acute Care Unit. At least they were very receptive and did all their care. I was glad I just need to supervise them and helped them quite a bit during the med pass. Well done guys!
Then in the afternoon we did the post-conference at the hospital's conference room and I covered them how to make a drug study, deviced an individualized care plans, solved complex medication math problems, reviewed the facts and guidelines about G-tube feedings which they have to use and take care for this rotation, assessed how they are in doing the patient's physical assessments, and also reviewed some of the internal policies and guidelines of the hospital to them. It went very well.
I went home tired at 1500H and went to sleep because I have to work tonight. My uninterrupted sleep had made me recoup all the lost energy I've had and I woke up fully recharged and feeling fresh. When I woke up at 1830H I then ironed my scrubs and took a refreshingly warm shower. It was already dark when I left the house, heralding the coming of Fall season.
I tried to locate my car which was parked on the street just in front of my apartment. It was already 1915H and I was already late at work. I jitterily inserted the key at the ignition and then I've heard an unrecognizable click and had noticed that my car won't start. I tried to turn off the ignition and started the car again but still I heard the same clicking sound that I've alarmedly heard earlier. On the dash board it shows that the engine and the battery were lighted on, telling me that there was a problem on both. I got scared that there is something wrong with my car.
I was terrified and I don't know what to do. I initially panicked but then I gradually picked up my composure and calmed down myself trying to think on what to do initially. First thing I thought of Julio, my landlord, who usually helped me when it comes to problems like this. I checked the house and apparently it appeared that there was nobody there. It was dark inside. Julio's truck is not either in the driveway, where he used to park. Then suddenly, he and Joaquin, the boyfriend, showed up at the street driving the truck, I think they just went out, and he asked me what happened. I told him about my abrupt dilemma and then I called my work alerting them what had happened and that I will be late.
I then called triple A, a company I am affiliated as a member who always gives assistance to car owners who have trouble on the road and about their cars, and asked for an immediate assistance. The lady on the other line was very kind and nice to help me and she instructed me on what to do and to wait for the assistance or help to come in less than an hour. Julio stayed with me trying to pacify me because I was panicking and quite nervous at that time, thinking that the car engine was probably at fault, thereby I have to prepare more money for the repair. I can't blame myself worrying and anticipating what will happen because I was in a lot of situations pouring money for the repair of this car. I mean it was massively expensive......
Thirty minutes later my rescue from triple A came and assessed my car. He connected this and that, tapped my engine to check it, tested the beam light and the aircondition inside the car which were all working well. He then assessed the battery and determined after that, that the battery was eventually dead and needed to be ultimately replaced. I told Robert, that's his name according to him when I asked him about his name. He told me that he can replace it and he will charge me for the cost, which was very costly, but what could I do, I needed it that time in order for me to leave and show up to work.
I then called my work to update them about the progress then I waited until Robert had installed the new battery fully. Then I breathed so well now because all my anticipating questions earlier was totally not valid and was proven inadequate. Haist..... thank God. It was a relief knowing that the engine was not affected or damaged. But honestly, I was totally freaked out about the idea. I had just spend a lot of money for the new special rim that was just installed because it caused my tire to be flat all the time and now this new problem had come up again. I almost fainted but thank God I didn't.
When Robert had installed the new battery I thanked him for coming over and for fixing my car. I then called my work telling them that I am coming in a few minutes. The car was doing well while I was slowly driving to work. There were no issues about it on my way. Thank God!
I hope this situation will not be repeated again. I have to be sure that everything is in order. This experience had given me some insight about what to do when I got caught with something that will render me helpless and inert. I don't want to experience it again because it had affected me so much, making me worry of things that aren't suppose to be worrying about. I mean it's natural to worry on those but the stress or burden is unbearable. Hopefully things will be great tomorrow. (Crossing my fingers). Great lesson for this day that I don't want to happen again.
Today was the longest day of my life, maybe..... I started off with my clinicals at Los Angeles Community Hospital with my second group from Medical Allied Career Center. It was their first day actually because they have to switch with the other group. Our first day went well actually. They were buddied up with each other and took care of five patients in the Acute Care Unit. At least they were very receptive and did all their care. I was glad I just need to supervise them and helped them quite a bit during the med pass. Well done guys!
Then in the afternoon we did the post-conference at the hospital's conference room and I covered them how to make a drug study, deviced an individualized care plans, solved complex medication math problems, reviewed the facts and guidelines about G-tube feedings which they have to use and take care for this rotation, assessed how they are in doing the patient's physical assessments, and also reviewed some of the internal policies and guidelines of the hospital to them. It went very well.
I went home tired at 1500H and went to sleep because I have to work tonight. My uninterrupted sleep had made me recoup all the lost energy I've had and I woke up fully recharged and feeling fresh. When I woke up at 1830H I then ironed my scrubs and took a refreshingly warm shower. It was already dark when I left the house, heralding the coming of Fall season.
I tried to locate my car which was parked on the street just in front of my apartment. It was already 1915H and I was already late at work. I jitterily inserted the key at the ignition and then I've heard an unrecognizable click and had noticed that my car won't start. I tried to turn off the ignition and started the car again but still I heard the same clicking sound that I've alarmedly heard earlier. On the dash board it shows that the engine and the battery were lighted on, telling me that there was a problem on both. I got scared that there is something wrong with my car.
I was terrified and I don't know what to do. I initially panicked but then I gradually picked up my composure and calmed down myself trying to think on what to do initially. First thing I thought of Julio, my landlord, who usually helped me when it comes to problems like this. I checked the house and apparently it appeared that there was nobody there. It was dark inside. Julio's truck is not either in the driveway, where he used to park. Then suddenly, he and Joaquin, the boyfriend, showed up at the street driving the truck, I think they just went out, and he asked me what happened. I told him about my abrupt dilemma and then I called my work alerting them what had happened and that I will be late.
I then called triple A, a company I am affiliated as a member who always gives assistance to car owners who have trouble on the road and about their cars, and asked for an immediate assistance. The lady on the other line was very kind and nice to help me and she instructed me on what to do and to wait for the assistance or help to come in less than an hour. Julio stayed with me trying to pacify me because I was panicking and quite nervous at that time, thinking that the car engine was probably at fault, thereby I have to prepare more money for the repair. I can't blame myself worrying and anticipating what will happen because I was in a lot of situations pouring money for the repair of this car. I mean it was massively expensive......
Thirty minutes later my rescue from triple A came and assessed my car. He connected this and that, tapped my engine to check it, tested the beam light and the aircondition inside the car which were all working well. He then assessed the battery and determined after that, that the battery was eventually dead and needed to be ultimately replaced. I told Robert, that's his name according to him when I asked him about his name. He told me that he can replace it and he will charge me for the cost, which was very costly, but what could I do, I needed it that time in order for me to leave and show up to work.
I then called my work to update them about the progress then I waited until Robert had installed the new battery fully. Then I breathed so well now because all my anticipating questions earlier was totally not valid and was proven inadequate. Haist..... thank God. It was a relief knowing that the engine was not affected or damaged. But honestly, I was totally freaked out about the idea. I had just spend a lot of money for the new special rim that was just installed because it caused my tire to be flat all the time and now this new problem had come up again. I almost fainted but thank God I didn't.
When Robert had installed the new battery I thanked him for coming over and for fixing my car. I then called my work telling them that I am coming in a few minutes. The car was doing well while I was slowly driving to work. There were no issues about it on my way. Thank God!
I hope this situation will not be repeated again. I have to be sure that everything is in order. This experience had given me some insight about what to do when I got caught with something that will render me helpless and inert. I don't want to experience it again because it had affected me so much, making me worry of things that aren't suppose to be worrying about. I mean it's natural to worry on those but the stress or burden is unbearable. Hopefully things will be great tomorrow. (Crossing my fingers). Great lesson for this day that I don't want to happen again.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
I Obviously Noticed
Yeah.... it seems that I am oozing with confidence today. I don't know what is happening but I woke up this morning so pumped up despite I had insomnia last night and went to sleep at 0200H. I only slept for three hours and I still feel so relaxed.
It was still dark when I woke up this morning, a sign that Fall had indeed settled in. I am used to the bright morning that Summer had been ushering in few months back but it seems that Fall season was been looming around everywhere.
My body clock seems to like and got used to the bright morning and it will be hard for me to adapt again for the next season. I noticed that the weather in the morning was quite windy and cold lately and I like it better compared to the slight humidity of the Summer. Yeah... I like Fall and Winter season, because of the cold breeze of the early morning day.
I drove to work this morning going to Torrance because I have a clinical rotation with Batch 44B at TCCW and it was still dark when I left the house at 0615H. Usually, it was springlike bright on those times. The traffic was already heavy at that time and I feared that I will be probably late. (Actually, just slightly because I arrived at 0705H, at the clinical site, just five minutes tardy. Lol.)
I started my early morning conference with the students, still feeling confident, and telling them what to do by explaining our goals and expectations for the day. I am happy that the students were very accepting of today's goals and they seem to be very compliant and reliant about it.
I hand them the forms that they needed to submit during the post-conference later, including the pathophysiology, the mini care plan, and the drug studies. They were very receptive at it.
Then come their medication process, I asked them questions about the drugs that they were preparing and they were very ready for it, although there were some who still struggled explaning about the drugs that they are preparing. It was just a minor mistake and I can handle it. It only needs a little polishing and they will be okay.
We medicated the residents, did the morning care, changed the G-tube dressing, assess the G-tube site, got the accuchecks and covered the insulin injections. It was a very busy day but we survived the challenge. Thank God!
At post-conference we answered some practice test about the enteral tube feeding questions and did some intravenous calculations which they had struggled a lot. Well, I might probably focus on this calculation thing for them to get familiar with. Time will come they will get better about all the needed calculations process.
I am glad that I am a part of this very receptive group who wants to learn a lot from their rotation. They were not that demanding nor complained for anything about the amount of work I put them in. They were extremely very eager to learn all things and I am glad that they have the drive to do it. In my observation, they would likely to succeed in the future.
I think this really made me so confident today. The aura that I exerted and showed earlier was beyond explanation. I was just there telling them what to do. It fattens my heart because they are all eager to learn with me today. I hope they will keep this spirit until fourth term, when they finished. Yeah, I like this group. I like Batch 44B!
It was still dark when I woke up this morning, a sign that Fall had indeed settled in. I am used to the bright morning that Summer had been ushering in few months back but it seems that Fall season was been looming around everywhere.
My body clock seems to like and got used to the bright morning and it will be hard for me to adapt again for the next season. I noticed that the weather in the morning was quite windy and cold lately and I like it better compared to the slight humidity of the Summer. Yeah... I like Fall and Winter season, because of the cold breeze of the early morning day.
I drove to work this morning going to Torrance because I have a clinical rotation with Batch 44B at TCCW and it was still dark when I left the house at 0615H. Usually, it was springlike bright on those times. The traffic was already heavy at that time and I feared that I will be probably late. (Actually, just slightly because I arrived at 0705H, at the clinical site, just five minutes tardy. Lol.)
I started my early morning conference with the students, still feeling confident, and telling them what to do by explaining our goals and expectations for the day. I am happy that the students were very accepting of today's goals and they seem to be very compliant and reliant about it.
I hand them the forms that they needed to submit during the post-conference later, including the pathophysiology, the mini care plan, and the drug studies. They were very receptive at it.
Then come their medication process, I asked them questions about the drugs that they were preparing and they were very ready for it, although there were some who still struggled explaning about the drugs that they are preparing. It was just a minor mistake and I can handle it. It only needs a little polishing and they will be okay.
We medicated the residents, did the morning care, changed the G-tube dressing, assess the G-tube site, got the accuchecks and covered the insulin injections. It was a very busy day but we survived the challenge. Thank God!
At post-conference we answered some practice test about the enteral tube feeding questions and did some intravenous calculations which they had struggled a lot. Well, I might probably focus on this calculation thing for them to get familiar with. Time will come they will get better about all the needed calculations process.
I am glad that I am a part of this very receptive group who wants to learn a lot from their rotation. They were not that demanding nor complained for anything about the amount of work I put them in. They were extremely very eager to learn all things and I am glad that they have the drive to do it. In my observation, they would likely to succeed in the future.
I think this really made me so confident today. The aura that I exerted and showed earlier was beyond explanation. I was just there telling them what to do. It fattens my heart because they are all eager to learn with me today. I hope they will keep this spirit until fourth term, when they finished. Yeah, I like this group. I like Batch 44B!
Monday, October 7, 2013
Blooming And Fleeting Excitement
Yeah, I'm up for an impending long vacation next month and I'm really excited about it. It will be a month long vacation. I intend half of it for a volunteer work and another half for adventure. I hope it will be a very enjoyable and memorable vacation just like my previous vacation.
My goal for this vacation is to serve the community as well as learn Spanish. I signed up for a three weeks Spanish immersion class in Puebla, Mexico. The school that I'm going there was been recommended well online and I hope my expectations will be fully met. My excitement really brew extremely and I can't wait for it to happen. I am glad I decided for it.
Honestly, this is an adventure decision. I didn't know what to expect really. I'll be on my own for this without the help of a guide or my friend wholives there. I didn't even informed my friend that I will be going back there for a schooling. I am very much inclined to learn everything on my own. I hope I will survive it.
Well, I hope it will not be dangerous down there. Judging with my previous vacation there it seems that it is safe touring there. I saw some Europeans there taking classes and living the life of a student learning new languages. I am just not sure if I can blend in but I will try. My adventurous nature tells me to go so here I am signing up for the course.
In between the classes, according to the brochure, it says that we can opt in volunteering. So, I planned to volunteer in an orphanage or teaching Math, English, and Science in elementary and high school. This is my long time dream to help and volunteer so here I am. Thank God I decided for it. I hope it will be a great learning process as well as a life changing adventure.
I made some plans for places to go and most of the places I will go are mostly found in the state of Quintana Roo. Included in my trip was to see the Olmec place in Tula, Hidalgo as well as the Prismos Basalticos Falls in Hidalgo state as well. I also want to see the pyramid ruins of El Tajin in Veracruz as well as the other Mayan ruins in Chetamal and the Zapotec ruins in Monte Alban in Oaxaca. So many interesting places to go and I don't know what to do.
What I really expect form this long vacation i sto achieve my ultimate goal to learn Spanish extensively so that I can communicate well during my travels there because I am still planning to go back there and see more beautiful and magnificent places. I am also planning to travel in South America every year hence studying Spanish is really a must. And that is my ultimate goal for this vacation. That is why I am there for a three weeks extensive class which I am excited about.
I will be meeting a lot of people from all over the world. Who knows I might be good friends with them. I am super ecstatic about it and I wish it could be tomorrow. Hehehe. Haist.... I just cannot describe what I am feeling right now. It's just that anxiety had been building up gradually. I feel that I have butterflies in my stomach and that I am really in a "flight or fight" situation. You know what I mean.....
There are some manifestations like I couldn't eat, couldn't concentrate or focus, couldn't put things at the right places. Very hard to imagine. How I wish it's starting now so that my anxieties could be lessened. It's killing me softly.... as what the song says. Damn..... I just can't wait for it to happen. As if it is a matter of life and death..... I don't know why I felt like this. It could be I'm so burned out at work and just wanted to escape from it. Who knows!
Apparently, I have to b erealistic here. I have to focus that it will happen in one month's time so that it won't defeat the fleeting excitement that I feel. I have to makes plans so that every thing will be organized and will be in order. It's just the right thing to do for now. And focusing all my energy to dawdle for a thing that is not suppose to happen will cause more apprehensions and anxieties. That I needed to get rid of.
I just can't describe my excitement right now. Everything that I feel right now is just an anticipation of what is looming or coming. It is just temporary. Albeit it is fleeting. So what I have to do now is to get back to reality and get on to my horses and do as well as plan for the right reasons. Good luck to me. Oh... I just can;t wait for it to happen. Aaahh.....
My goal for this vacation is to serve the community as well as learn Spanish. I signed up for a three weeks Spanish immersion class in Puebla, Mexico. The school that I'm going there was been recommended well online and I hope my expectations will be fully met. My excitement really brew extremely and I can't wait for it to happen. I am glad I decided for it.
Honestly, this is an adventure decision. I didn't know what to expect really. I'll be on my own for this without the help of a guide or my friend wholives there. I didn't even informed my friend that I will be going back there for a schooling. I am very much inclined to learn everything on my own. I hope I will survive it.
Well, I hope it will not be dangerous down there. Judging with my previous vacation there it seems that it is safe touring there. I saw some Europeans there taking classes and living the life of a student learning new languages. I am just not sure if I can blend in but I will try. My adventurous nature tells me to go so here I am signing up for the course.
In between the classes, according to the brochure, it says that we can opt in volunteering. So, I planned to volunteer in an orphanage or teaching Math, English, and Science in elementary and high school. This is my long time dream to help and volunteer so here I am. Thank God I decided for it. I hope it will be a great learning process as well as a life changing adventure.
I made some plans for places to go and most of the places I will go are mostly found in the state of Quintana Roo. Included in my trip was to see the Olmec place in Tula, Hidalgo as well as the Prismos Basalticos Falls in Hidalgo state as well. I also want to see the pyramid ruins of El Tajin in Veracruz as well as the other Mayan ruins in Chetamal and the Zapotec ruins in Monte Alban in Oaxaca. So many interesting places to go and I don't know what to do.
What I really expect form this long vacation i sto achieve my ultimate goal to learn Spanish extensively so that I can communicate well during my travels there because I am still planning to go back there and see more beautiful and magnificent places. I am also planning to travel in South America every year hence studying Spanish is really a must. And that is my ultimate goal for this vacation. That is why I am there for a three weeks extensive class which I am excited about.
I will be meeting a lot of people from all over the world. Who knows I might be good friends with them. I am super ecstatic about it and I wish it could be tomorrow. Hehehe. Haist.... I just cannot describe what I am feeling right now. It's just that anxiety had been building up gradually. I feel that I have butterflies in my stomach and that I am really in a "flight or fight" situation. You know what I mean.....
There are some manifestations like I couldn't eat, couldn't concentrate or focus, couldn't put things at the right places. Very hard to imagine. How I wish it's starting now so that my anxieties could be lessened. It's killing me softly.... as what the song says. Damn..... I just can't wait for it to happen. As if it is a matter of life and death..... I don't know why I felt like this. It could be I'm so burned out at work and just wanted to escape from it. Who knows!
Apparently, I have to b erealistic here. I have to focus that it will happen in one month's time so that it won't defeat the fleeting excitement that I feel. I have to makes plans so that every thing will be organized and will be in order. It's just the right thing to do for now. And focusing all my energy to dawdle for a thing that is not suppose to happen will cause more apprehensions and anxieties. That I needed to get rid of.
I just can't describe my excitement right now. Everything that I feel right now is just an anticipation of what is looming or coming. It is just temporary. Albeit it is fleeting. So what I have to do now is to get back to reality and get on to my horses and do as well as plan for the right reasons. Good luck to me. Oh... I just can;t wait for it to happen. Aaahh.....
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Two Sizes Up
For several weeks I was suffering some blister pain on my small toe on the right foot and I was limping severely that I couldn't take it anymore. The pain was very intense. Even when driving it hurts that I could barely step on the pedals and had affected my driving a lot. I was so scared thinking that I might get another accident which I just barely recovered four months ago.
I thought the pain was due to my existing connective tissue problem called gout. A disorder that made some joints get inflammed due to increase deposits of uric acid crystals. I was greatly worried that I could not get over it because the pain was very intense. I tried to observe myself what really caused it but it was still a puzzle for me why it is happening. I have no clue whatsoever. I tried to curtail some of the foods that I ate that can affect my gout to flare up but it is still not helping. Tried to lose weight and observed what happened but still the pain still persists.
One day I decided to go shopping for shoes because it really hurts every time I wear my old shoes thinking that I might get a bigger one to at least alleviate the pain. When I decided to change my shoes to a larger size, because I have to stop wearing my size 8 shoes due to the fact that it really hurts when I wear them, I noticed much greater improvement. Apparently my inordinate limping was gone. I had walked normally now and much more stable than the previous days. My new Toms canvas shoes which is size 10 had brought me relief and had eased the pain that I have felt on my small toe in my right foot, which I had suffered for a few weeks back. It was a totally new feeling that I have experienced and I have figured out that every thing was okay now.
I was already beginning to think that maybe it was a part of my aging process and I was kinda bargaining to myself that if it is my gout that had caused it then I have to go see my doctor because I really can't stand or tolerate it. I have impulsively taken Voltaren and Neurontin alternately to relieve the excruciating pain but they're still not working. I was so existentially desperate to have the pain eased up a little bit that time and I don't know what to do at those moements when I have suffered the unrelieved nagging pains. It was embarrassing for me to walk limply and always shyly uttering "ouch! ouch" all the time. I was very so embarrassed and at the same time excessively depressed.
I thanked God that my suspicions were totally wrong. Needless to say I am still not confident of my findings so I have to make measure to avoid myself from experiencing it again. I still have schedule an appointment to see my primary doctor and tell him what had happened so that he will know and might probably help me out in sorting out the problem and make some plans on how to prveent it form occuring next time. Right now I feel more better and had breathed normally now. My concerns were all eased up and I am grateful that everything was okay although I still have to find out what happene dby visiting my physician.
On the otherhand, I went shopping yesterday for some Levi's pants (which is my favirite jeans of all time) and also noticed that my pant's sizes had climbed two sizes more. I was so surprised about it that I thought I had gained so much weight. I thought I'm still the same size 34 but when I fitted the pants it looks so tight on me and I looked like a wrapped burrito and I couldn't breath well. But when I tried the size 36 it just fit right without causing for me to tuck in my stomach and affect my breathing. That was really surprising.!
I was also flabbergasted about the facts that I have gathered. I know I have gained weight slightly but I never knew that my shoe's and pant's size had already drastically changed. It was not expected of me to have those numbers increased. Or shall I say I didn't really expect that those numbers will climbed a notch up. I never thought I could grow more inches. It's just too surprising! Tha's why I felt so clumsy most of the time.
So now I know what is happening to me. I thought that my gout had worsened and had contributed to my debility on my foot and had also increase my pant's and shoe's sizes. Would that be strange? Yeah, for me it was. It's not just like that but it was highly unlikely for me to happen on my age at 43. It was impossible for it to happen but it did happened. How astonishing!
But oh well, granted that it had happened, I have to face the reality that all those changes in my body had already occured and just for me to accept and face the fact that I am evolving and thriving as a normal human being. Being at a four score age is kinda surprising but yeah it does happen and it did to me. It's just that I am still in the denial process and never really had communed to my inner soul to accept the fact that my old me was gone physically and that I am still entitled to grow. Hehehe.
It's a fact that we all change but for me only physically but not my inner soul which is the same me. It's kind of awkward to feel that I grew few more sizes but I know my inner me is still there. I just have to accept those changes and outgrow it. Life evolves so am I..... and also we are. I just probably have to learn from it and make themost of it maybe. But it's still kinda strange and awkward. Oh well...... whatever!
I thought the pain was due to my existing connective tissue problem called gout. A disorder that made some joints get inflammed due to increase deposits of uric acid crystals. I was greatly worried that I could not get over it because the pain was very intense. I tried to observe myself what really caused it but it was still a puzzle for me why it is happening. I have no clue whatsoever. I tried to curtail some of the foods that I ate that can affect my gout to flare up but it is still not helping. Tried to lose weight and observed what happened but still the pain still persists.
One day I decided to go shopping for shoes because it really hurts every time I wear my old shoes thinking that I might get a bigger one to at least alleviate the pain. When I decided to change my shoes to a larger size, because I have to stop wearing my size 8 shoes due to the fact that it really hurts when I wear them, I noticed much greater improvement. Apparently my inordinate limping was gone. I had walked normally now and much more stable than the previous days. My new Toms canvas shoes which is size 10 had brought me relief and had eased the pain that I have felt on my small toe in my right foot, which I had suffered for a few weeks back. It was a totally new feeling that I have experienced and I have figured out that every thing was okay now.
I was already beginning to think that maybe it was a part of my aging process and I was kinda bargaining to myself that if it is my gout that had caused it then I have to go see my doctor because I really can't stand or tolerate it. I have impulsively taken Voltaren and Neurontin alternately to relieve the excruciating pain but they're still not working. I was so existentially desperate to have the pain eased up a little bit that time and I don't know what to do at those moements when I have suffered the unrelieved nagging pains. It was embarrassing for me to walk limply and always shyly uttering "ouch! ouch" all the time. I was very so embarrassed and at the same time excessively depressed.
I thanked God that my suspicions were totally wrong. Needless to say I am still not confident of my findings so I have to make measure to avoid myself from experiencing it again. I still have schedule an appointment to see my primary doctor and tell him what had happened so that he will know and might probably help me out in sorting out the problem and make some plans on how to prveent it form occuring next time. Right now I feel more better and had breathed normally now. My concerns were all eased up and I am grateful that everything was okay although I still have to find out what happene dby visiting my physician.
On the otherhand, I went shopping yesterday for some Levi's pants (which is my favirite jeans of all time) and also noticed that my pant's sizes had climbed two sizes more. I was so surprised about it that I thought I had gained so much weight. I thought I'm still the same size 34 but when I fitted the pants it looks so tight on me and I looked like a wrapped burrito and I couldn't breath well. But when I tried the size 36 it just fit right without causing for me to tuck in my stomach and affect my breathing. That was really surprising.!
I was also flabbergasted about the facts that I have gathered. I know I have gained weight slightly but I never knew that my shoe's and pant's size had already drastically changed. It was not expected of me to have those numbers increased. Or shall I say I didn't really expect that those numbers will climbed a notch up. I never thought I could grow more inches. It's just too surprising! Tha's why I felt so clumsy most of the time.
So now I know what is happening to me. I thought that my gout had worsened and had contributed to my debility on my foot and had also increase my pant's and shoe's sizes. Would that be strange? Yeah, for me it was. It's not just like that but it was highly unlikely for me to happen on my age at 43. It was impossible for it to happen but it did happened. How astonishing!
But oh well, granted that it had happened, I have to face the reality that all those changes in my body had already occured and just for me to accept and face the fact that I am evolving and thriving as a normal human being. Being at a four score age is kinda surprising but yeah it does happen and it did to me. It's just that I am still in the denial process and never really had communed to my inner soul to accept the fact that my old me was gone physically and that I am still entitled to grow. Hehehe.
It's a fact that we all change but for me only physically but not my inner soul which is the same me. It's kind of awkward to feel that I grew few more sizes but I know my inner me is still there. I just have to accept those changes and outgrow it. Life evolves so am I..... and also we are. I just probably have to learn from it and make themost of it maybe. But it's still kinda strange and awkward. Oh well...... whatever!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
October Just Sets In
Yes, it's that time of the year again that nearly closing out 2013. And it is the month that I got to remind myself that I am another year older. I am quite in denial that I am getting old but oh well, everybody go through that anyway.
October my birth month and I couldn't be more thankful for all the blessings that I have got this year. I know that life has to go on and there is no stopping it. Although, I am still not quite ready to get old. Hmmm.... sounds like I wanted to get stuck at being 40. Sounds good but it's not really possible.
It seems that the months of 2013 just breezed through and it's three months away and it will be over. Another year with set in and another challenges will come by. It seems that time is so fast and there is no permanence in it. I have no idea really what will happen.
Setting goals is very important to make life easier. Having a plans on what to do just keep me more productive. Sometimes there were times that I've got timid and I can't help it. I may have not like it but I did it unwillingly. It's not easy to get stuck to a point that it derails my thinking sometimes. It's quite scary!
Next month, I will embark on a month long journey down south to find myself some serenity and to do what I like to accomplish. I will take it one at a time so that there will be no repercussions in the end. I will plan out each day so that my journey will be fruitful and successful. I have some goals already in mind and it makes me more inspired and watchful as the days shortens. I just can't wait to have it happen. I will always enjoy the moment.
I guess it's time for me again to get away from the tight rein of work. I felt burnt out already. I needed some fresh air and hopefully my month long vacation will be enough for me to enjoy myself and just don't think about work. I always longed to get away just to bask myself with very inspiring places that I like to spend in. Nothing can beat the promises of being away from a busy environment wherein silence will be eternal. Oh how I like that ecstatic feeling.
My goal for this vacation is to lose a lot of weight. Due to my negligence, I have gained so much weight the past month and now I am suffering with bone pains and shortness of breath. I wanted to use my time away from work to lose weight by exercising everyday. I planned to do a lot of walking and running there and also do some gym visits if time will permit.
The reason that I am leaving is because I signed out for a translation class and I wanted to know Spanish better so it's just hightime for me to take action by applying for the Spanish class.
I have a lot in my mind to happen but I could be more excited to have them done. Needless to know that I have only myself to do it so I just have to take everything one at a time and hopefully everything will be all right.
I'm not packed yet but eventually I will do it. It's just that I have to enjoy this month first by celebrating my natal day and just enjoy the promises of time despite the fact that I am a year older and wiser as well. Good luck to me for this year and hopefully all will be well. Can't complain really. Ciao!
October my birth month and I couldn't be more thankful for all the blessings that I have got this year. I know that life has to go on and there is no stopping it. Although, I am still not quite ready to get old. Hmmm.... sounds like I wanted to get stuck at being 40. Sounds good but it's not really possible.
It seems that the months of 2013 just breezed through and it's three months away and it will be over. Another year with set in and another challenges will come by. It seems that time is so fast and there is no permanence in it. I have no idea really what will happen.
Setting goals is very important to make life easier. Having a plans on what to do just keep me more productive. Sometimes there were times that I've got timid and I can't help it. I may have not like it but I did it unwillingly. It's not easy to get stuck to a point that it derails my thinking sometimes. It's quite scary!
Next month, I will embark on a month long journey down south to find myself some serenity and to do what I like to accomplish. I will take it one at a time so that there will be no repercussions in the end. I will plan out each day so that my journey will be fruitful and successful. I have some goals already in mind and it makes me more inspired and watchful as the days shortens. I just can't wait to have it happen. I will always enjoy the moment.
I guess it's time for me again to get away from the tight rein of work. I felt burnt out already. I needed some fresh air and hopefully my month long vacation will be enough for me to enjoy myself and just don't think about work. I always longed to get away just to bask myself with very inspiring places that I like to spend in. Nothing can beat the promises of being away from a busy environment wherein silence will be eternal. Oh how I like that ecstatic feeling.
My goal for this vacation is to lose a lot of weight. Due to my negligence, I have gained so much weight the past month and now I am suffering with bone pains and shortness of breath. I wanted to use my time away from work to lose weight by exercising everyday. I planned to do a lot of walking and running there and also do some gym visits if time will permit.
The reason that I am leaving is because I signed out for a translation class and I wanted to know Spanish better so it's just hightime for me to take action by applying for the Spanish class.
I have a lot in my mind to happen but I could be more excited to have them done. Needless to know that I have only myself to do it so I just have to take everything one at a time and hopefully everything will be all right.
I'm not packed yet but eventually I will do it. It's just that I have to enjoy this month first by celebrating my natal day and just enjoy the promises of time despite the fact that I am a year older and wiser as well. Good luck to me for this year and hopefully all will be well. Can't complain really. Ciao!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
The Story Of Enriqueta
A little dark-haired girl with noticeable dimples and bright dreamy eyes sits at the bottom of the old wooden staircase and solemnly peeks around the concealed corner of the kitchen as if waiting for something to come out but there's none. Few steps away on an intricately patterned tiled table, a cheap candle glitteringly illuminates the dark small room solely with a flickering amber glow as the dismal night gradually approaches. The girl was still seen there staring blankly at the dim lighted room, alone and thinking hard about something.
The dinky room is sweltering yet balmy coming from the radiant heat of the antediluvian stone fireplace nearby. Mother and Father are assiduously reviewing their meager finances just few weeks before their 14-day journey by ship to the Americas. There, Enriqueta will finish school and eventually attend college to become a teacher, a dream she wants to chase with unabashed passion. She will be the first ever in the family to leave this tiny village on the island of Sicily, Italy and receive a formal education.
As the years pass by, this only child of Italian immigrants graciously enjoys an extremely long and fully rewarding career heartily teaching literature. At times, she surprisingly finds herself teaching the children of her previous students. Her face radiantly and enthusiastically reflects with much pride each time her former students accidentally stop by to tell her about their fruitful accomplishments.
After years of teaching, she has masterfully built an incessant life-long and indelible friendships. She takes habitual daily walks, determinatively stopping to visit with the neighborhood grocer to belligerently haggle over the price of his newly hauled fresh bread. Every Sunday, she attends church with her amiable family and loyal friends. Her primary physician is a former obliging student who once convincingly wrote a very powerful essay about how he strongly wanted to fortunately grow up and "be a respectable doctor and take care of old helpless lonely elderly people."
She excitedly looks forward to her retirement when she can spend her wonderful days writing important solid memoirs of her childhood in Sicily and her unforgettable and memorable journey to America. However, the unanticipated arrival of Alzheimer's disease cuts her retirement short and cheats her existence all of a sudden. Little-by-little, she gradually notices that things do not seem to make sense anymore and seems extremely strange and odd. Enthusiastically devoted to her esteemed profession and her beloved students, Enriqueta had no children and never tried to get married. Her wonderful life revolved around her students, her books, and her church.
Now residing in the special care Alzheimer's unit, in a well known nursing care center in Hollywood, is a difficult and bitter adjustment for her, filled with unassuming doubts, unknown fears, and forlorn reluctance. The hundreds of collected books she had in her home have now become a neat stack of six on a small bedside table, arranged in alphabetical order by author. The top drawer is full of unopened cards and letters from former students wishing her well. Big numbered calendar and an enormous round wall clock adorned the wall at the foot of the bed for her to see.
An old faded black and white photograph of Enriqueta and her doting parents, taken just few days before their expeditionary trip to America, hangs on the wall next to her bed. A bright ceiling light over the single bed remains lit after remaining on throughout the long, lonely cold night. For the first time in her life, Enriqueta must share her space with someone else. It is confusing and frightening at times, but she tries to adjust and cooperate. She continues to smile with those noticeable dimples and bright dreamy eyes, although her face is laced with wrinkles at her fragile age of eighy-seven.
In the morning, the staff helps Enriqueta choose her outfit to wear for the day. They remind her to come to breakfast in the dining room. She routinely makes a stop to use the bathroom, slowly washes her hands in the sink, and then cautiously retrieves her hairbrush from her customized top dresser drawer. As she brushes her wavy, brittle silver hair, she regularly sees the staff hustling and bustling past her door providing breakfast and daily care to all of the residents.
Her 5 foot and 2 inch frame, perfectly groomed, and dressed conservatively in a light blue skirt, wearing discretely her pantyhose and shoes, topped with a white blouse, and cream colored cardigan, walks painstakingly into the hall. When someone had unconsciously spilled coffee on the dirty-white-colored vinyl floor, the haggard looking Enriqueta sluggishly bends over to clean it up with her white-embroidered handkerchief. She suddenly slips and fell on her right side, seriously fracturing and injuring her right arm. She immediately returns from the emergency room wearing a thick-looking immobilizer and a hugging sling. Upon arrival she is then transferred to the non-dementia unit in the same care center.
Two weeks had pass by, the feeble-looking Enriqueta loses eight pounds and the smile has inescapably left her wrinkly face. Her eyes were a dull stare, void of emotions, which appears expressionless and had no affect at all. She quietly sits in her wheelchair equipped with a self-release belt restraint and wears an uncomfortable incontinent brief under a pair of bright pink (her favorite color) soft velour sweatpants that are marked "Victoria Secret" across the waist. The wheelchair is permanently locked as she unassumingly sits across from the deserted nursing station, next to others in a semi-circle formation, all lazily and nonchalantly dozing in their respective wheelchairs.
Several core staff members passed by, but there is no active interaction or even a bit chance of coincidental eye contact observed, not even a hint of validation that those peacefully sitting residents lining up in their wheelchairs were actually existing at the corner. While she may be able to personally propel the wheelchair around the care center unassisted in the past, it is now temporarily locked and she is unable to unlock it by herself at that moment due to generalized body weakness. She appears defeated and helpless at that instance.
Across the hallway, a petite young fairly-complexioned nurse is on the phone intently talking with Enriqueta's physician, "Citalopram 100 milligrams, PO daily for depression. Lorazepam 1 milligram, IM PRN prior to care delivery for anxiety. Change dressing on coccyx pressure ulcer every other day. Is that correct doctor?" And so it begins...... loneliness, darkness, helplessness, worthlessness, and boredom... until she drifted away and couldn't remember everything.
The dinky room is sweltering yet balmy coming from the radiant heat of the antediluvian stone fireplace nearby. Mother and Father are assiduously reviewing their meager finances just few weeks before their 14-day journey by ship to the Americas. There, Enriqueta will finish school and eventually attend college to become a teacher, a dream she wants to chase with unabashed passion. She will be the first ever in the family to leave this tiny village on the island of Sicily, Italy and receive a formal education.
As the years pass by, this only child of Italian immigrants graciously enjoys an extremely long and fully rewarding career heartily teaching literature. At times, she surprisingly finds herself teaching the children of her previous students. Her face radiantly and enthusiastically reflects with much pride each time her former students accidentally stop by to tell her about their fruitful accomplishments.
After years of teaching, she has masterfully built an incessant life-long and indelible friendships. She takes habitual daily walks, determinatively stopping to visit with the neighborhood grocer to belligerently haggle over the price of his newly hauled fresh bread. Every Sunday, she attends church with her amiable family and loyal friends. Her primary physician is a former obliging student who once convincingly wrote a very powerful essay about how he strongly wanted to fortunately grow up and "be a respectable doctor and take care of old helpless lonely elderly people."
She excitedly looks forward to her retirement when she can spend her wonderful days writing important solid memoirs of her childhood in Sicily and her unforgettable and memorable journey to America. However, the unanticipated arrival of Alzheimer's disease cuts her retirement short and cheats her existence all of a sudden. Little-by-little, she gradually notices that things do not seem to make sense anymore and seems extremely strange and odd. Enthusiastically devoted to her esteemed profession and her beloved students, Enriqueta had no children and never tried to get married. Her wonderful life revolved around her students, her books, and her church.
Now residing in the special care Alzheimer's unit, in a well known nursing care center in Hollywood, is a difficult and bitter adjustment for her, filled with unassuming doubts, unknown fears, and forlorn reluctance. The hundreds of collected books she had in her home have now become a neat stack of six on a small bedside table, arranged in alphabetical order by author. The top drawer is full of unopened cards and letters from former students wishing her well. Big numbered calendar and an enormous round wall clock adorned the wall at the foot of the bed for her to see.
An old faded black and white photograph of Enriqueta and her doting parents, taken just few days before their expeditionary trip to America, hangs on the wall next to her bed. A bright ceiling light over the single bed remains lit after remaining on throughout the long, lonely cold night. For the first time in her life, Enriqueta must share her space with someone else. It is confusing and frightening at times, but she tries to adjust and cooperate. She continues to smile with those noticeable dimples and bright dreamy eyes, although her face is laced with wrinkles at her fragile age of eighy-seven.
In the morning, the staff helps Enriqueta choose her outfit to wear for the day. They remind her to come to breakfast in the dining room. She routinely makes a stop to use the bathroom, slowly washes her hands in the sink, and then cautiously retrieves her hairbrush from her customized top dresser drawer. As she brushes her wavy, brittle silver hair, she regularly sees the staff hustling and bustling past her door providing breakfast and daily care to all of the residents.
Her 5 foot and 2 inch frame, perfectly groomed, and dressed conservatively in a light blue skirt, wearing discretely her pantyhose and shoes, topped with a white blouse, and cream colored cardigan, walks painstakingly into the hall. When someone had unconsciously spilled coffee on the dirty-white-colored vinyl floor, the haggard looking Enriqueta sluggishly bends over to clean it up with her white-embroidered handkerchief. She suddenly slips and fell on her right side, seriously fracturing and injuring her right arm. She immediately returns from the emergency room wearing a thick-looking immobilizer and a hugging sling. Upon arrival she is then transferred to the non-dementia unit in the same care center.
Two weeks had pass by, the feeble-looking Enriqueta loses eight pounds and the smile has inescapably left her wrinkly face. Her eyes were a dull stare, void of emotions, which appears expressionless and had no affect at all. She quietly sits in her wheelchair equipped with a self-release belt restraint and wears an uncomfortable incontinent brief under a pair of bright pink (her favorite color) soft velour sweatpants that are marked "Victoria Secret" across the waist. The wheelchair is permanently locked as she unassumingly sits across from the deserted nursing station, next to others in a semi-circle formation, all lazily and nonchalantly dozing in their respective wheelchairs.
Several core staff members passed by, but there is no active interaction or even a bit chance of coincidental eye contact observed, not even a hint of validation that those peacefully sitting residents lining up in their wheelchairs were actually existing at the corner. While she may be able to personally propel the wheelchair around the care center unassisted in the past, it is now temporarily locked and she is unable to unlock it by herself at that moment due to generalized body weakness. She appears defeated and helpless at that instance.
Across the hallway, a petite young fairly-complexioned nurse is on the phone intently talking with Enriqueta's physician, "Citalopram 100 milligrams, PO daily for depression. Lorazepam 1 milligram, IM PRN prior to care delivery for anxiety. Change dressing on coccyx pressure ulcer every other day. Is that correct doctor?" And so it begins...... loneliness, darkness, helplessness, worthlessness, and boredom... until she drifted away and couldn't remember everything.
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